When Fates Converge
by Arthurian knight
Summary: It has been a year since the fall of the Demon Emperor and it seems that peace have finally come. However, dark forces are arising once again and it threatens this fragile equilibrium of this world. This time it would take more than a symbol to stop it...
1. Arc I: The Rise of the Valiant

**This is my second Code Geass fanfic. I've thought of this story since I finished watching both seasons but didn't have enough inspiration to write it until I read some of the fanfics here. I tried to follow the original storyline but it may change as the story goes on. As seen in the title it will be a one-sided KallenxLelouch from Kallen's POV but whether Lelouch would return her feelings in this fanfic…well…you'll just have to find out so don't be surprised if someone dies or end up with someone else.**

**New Note: I've decided to divide this story into different Arcs where each will have their own different themes. Re-edited Version.**

**Disclaimer: This is entirely fanmade so I do not; I repeat I do not own Code Geass, except for my own characters in this fanfic.**

**Arc I **

**Rise of the Valiant**

**It has been a year since the end of the Great War and the beginning of revolution in the Holy Empire of Britannia. After the masked knight Zero had slain the Demon Emperor, the empire released all the UFN hostages and reconciled its relationship with all members in the United Federation of Nations. **

**Now under Empress Nunally Vi Britannia with Zero had her side, people have started to see Britannia as a shining beacon to the world instead of the evil oppressive empire as it was before. The new empire used much of its resources to rebuild the war-torn world. Medical supplies and raw materials were sent to Europe, Asia and many other countries to help them recover during the war. Cities that were razed during the war were rebuilt. Britannian diplomats were sent on peace-keeping missions for the UFN in other countries. Under the leadership of Zero, the Knights of Rounds became an icon of honour and justice in the world rather than a symbol of blind zealots. Slowly, people had come to accept the new changes. It was as if the war and conquest of the Empire had never taken place.**

**However, peace was not to last. Many nobles especially the purebloods were extremely unhappy with the changes. The nobles had lost their lands and titles during Emperor Lelouch's era and rebelled but was crushed by his Royal Guard led by Lord Jeremiah Gottwald and the Knight of Zero Suzaku ****Kurrugi****. When the new government decided to limit the powers of the nobility to promote a more equal government, many of the surviving high ranking nobles led by the purist faction suddenly sized control of the Britannian army, since the majority of the Britannian military was commanded by the nobility. How they had managed such a feat in a quick manner, no one knew.**

**The UFN sent their peacekeepers in an attempt to negotiate with the rebels before another war begins. Their words fell on deaf ears.**

**Led by the House of Bradley, the Purist Alliance first led terror attacks against the Imperial family until finally open war had finally begun. A detachment of Black Knights were sent by the UFN under veteran and war-hero Knight Commander Kallen Kozuki both to protect the Empress and to help crush the rebellion.**

**While the cries of war echoed upon the winds, an ancient evil is about to rise. An evil that was lay hidden centuries ago…An evil that is eager for revenge…**

_Thick clouds enshrouded much of the northern side of the mountains. Chill winds cut deep into the flesh of every man in the column save for the leading hooded figure. They fell to a stop in front of a strange looking structure that would have passed for another mound if it were not for the dim lights that glow from a small cave. Not that anyone who witnessed it would have a chance to tell the tale. In the shadows, glowing red eyes study the group closely._

_"Who dares?" A ghostly voice demanded. _

_In response, the robed figure pulled down his hood and looked up into the shadows._

_"We come in the name of the Six. The masters will revive today." The hidden figure seemed to have nodded._

_"Open up. It is our brothers." The same voice ordered. The glowing eyes then disappeared and a soft rumbled followed. The wall in front of them started to vibrate slowly then suddenly becoming faster until it revealed itself to be a door. The cloaked figures continued their journey into the dark tunnel until every one of them had entered. At once, the door vanished behind them._

_The tunnels were radiated by torches on the walls. Strange pictures were carved on the walls. In some portrays, priests are shown worshipping some strange avian like god while others showed men were being sacrificed in some of the most horrible fashion. Hooded breast-plated guards stood attention with lances and sheathed swords. Their armour displayed the same avian icon. Another robed figure joined the column._

_"Brother, it is good to see you again." The figure greeted, its voice hinted that it was female. "How is your quest?"_

_"Perfect, sister. The knights were out and there was no one saved for a few soldiers. The prince is more foolish than we thought. He really thought that the Franks were attacking."_

_"Good," The female replied with utter glee. "Now that we have the artifacts we can begin the summoning. Once that happens, the world will be balanced once again."_

_The group continued their march until they reached a large chamber. It was terrible parody of any holy place. Petrified winged creatures that looked like demons from hell hovered from the ceilings. Others resembling wolves, dragons and reptiles stood on the walls. In the centre of the room was a large stone statue of a strange bird. Its very presence spread both awe and fear._

_Three figures dressed in the same robes of the duo approached to the circle._

_"Welcome back, brother Neclios!" The foremost priest greeted. _

_"Thank you, brother Meleik." Neclios nodded._

_"Have you got them?" One of the priests whispered impatiently. "The moment will be upon us soon! And with the knights looking for us…"_

_"Be at ease, brother. I've got them." The hooded figure took out a medium sized pouch and held it out. As he opened it, a gleaming amulet caught their eyes. It was about the size of a child's fist and the chain around it was made of gold. In its centre was a green jewel. While it looked innocent, something about it reeked of power. _

_A nasty smile crossed Meleik's features._

_"Perfect. I've never sensed anything more powerful! Now we can summon Lord Uethr and the others. We begin the ceremony now!" He gestured towards two guards. "Bring the girl."_

_A pale beautiful red haired girl dressed in a bloodied white linen dress was brought. Her legs and hands were chained while her mouth was gagged and all attempts to shout were futile. The blue eyes were full of fear. The unfortunate prisoner was tied at the altar just under the winged demon's chest. The evil cultists took up their positions around the altar, their hands raised as if they were muttering some kind of prayer._

_"Let the summoning begin!"_

_They began with low murmured chants. A loud rumble took place and thunder struck at the same moment silencing all other sound. As the chants grew louder, the rumbles and thunder strikes become more violent. A blue light started to glow around the altar. The captive struggled to escape but she was too well tied up._

_The high cultist, Meleik stood up and walked to the altar, a wicked looking dagger in one hand. He stopped in front of the girl and looked straight into the girl's eyes, raising the dagger high._

_"Be honoured that your death will bring balance to this world." The statue's eyes suddenly glowed crimson._

She awoke. Kallen Kozuki opened her eyes violently. Her heart was beating furiously as if she had just run the marathon. Her shoulder length dark pink hair was matted to her skull with sweat. Sapphire orbs darted from left to right, searching the dark chamber for the cultists and the girl. Sensing danger, the eighteen year old reached for her pouch knife that was beside her bed. But she was no longer in the temple but in her own room. There was no altar, no statues or any armoured men. She was alone.

"Why do I keep having these dreams?" She said out loud.

Sighing deeply, Kallen fell back to her bed. It was the strangest nightmare she had had in years. While it was not as painful as her dreams about Lelouch, it was still an unnerving one. The Japanese-Britannian girl wondered why she had such a dream. Perhaps it was a vision? It looked too bizarre for a vision. Cultists and human sacrifices…maybe something to do with Geass? Kallen did not know. But she would have to handle it another time. She turned to her alarm clock. It flashed _4:40 am._

Sighing again, Kallen tried to sleep again. She had slept at 1am this night after returning from Japan to Britannia. The Black knights were sent to help put down another rebellion against the crown. Her eyes narrowed at that thought. After all what had happened, there were those who had the nerve to hold on to dying tradition and fight for their own selfish rights. It was why she hated Britannia. But after meeting Lelouch, she was able to touch on her Britannian side as well and understand that not all Britannians were evil. Lelouch had proven that.

Kallen mused over the fact about the many opinions she had on him as since the day they met. At first she found him annoying and distasteful, and then she was admiring him as the man of miracles, later she hated him for betraying them at the Black rebellion but started to like him again when he took up Zero's mantle once more and even beginning to fall in love with the prince.

Tears started to fill her eyes as she thought of what happened after that. She was heartbroken when he called her a pawn on the _Ikaruga_. After all they had been through he had considered her a piece while she had slowly been falling for him. The arrogant bastard that she had thought became a resurrection of her old brother in her eyes. Kallen did not want to believe it but her emotions were going haywired and when he told her right in her face, she felt her entire world collapsed. She felt hopeful when he told her to live on. Kallen thought that he must have some kind of plan…perhaps it was her feelings for him? When he became the Emperor, she was visibly stunned. Kallen did not know if she would ever forgive him for the act then but the only thing she knew then was that she had to stop him. She was the one who led him to where he was and it was her duty to kill him.

She sobbed softly. Kallen did not see what Lelouch had planned until it was too late. She had been a fool…a complete idiot to lose hope in him. Even if she might able to forgive Lelouch but Kallen knew that she would never be able to forgive herself for losing faith in him.

After the war, she returned to Ashford which was now an international institute. Lelouch had asked her to go back with him to Ashford when it was all over and she went back for both of them. However, she still took part in the world as part of the Black knights. The New Britannia was badly weakened during the war and when it started to lose support of powerful nobles, the danger was made clear. The military of Britannia was greatly made up of those led by nobles and when they rebelled, the nobles took much of the Britannian army with them. Only the Imperial Guard and the Knights of the Round remained truly loyal. The Knights themselves, however, needed new members to protect Her Highness and Kallen was asked to join its ranks and become the new Knight of Two.

She actually wanted to end all military life and live with her mother but it brought her closer to Nunally whom she had become fond of and _she _needed her. Kallen knew Lelouch would have wanted someone he trusts to protect her sister and Kallen swore she would do it as if Nunally was her own sister. Although, she promised nothing, Kallen accepted being an honouree member of the Rounds. It was a good choice for both girls, Lelouch's death brought a chasm in both girls' hearts and they were amongst the few to understand the full truth. It was the only time both could be talk about things without hiding any secrets.

Kallen got up with a grunt, realising that she would not be able to sleep with all this thinking. The strawberry haired beauty walked straight up to the mirror and looked at her reflection. Her face was getting thinner. She thought. Not surprising too with all the stressed. Kallen wondered how Lelouch was able to cope up with it. After the war, Li Xingke became the CEO of the Black knights with Todoh as commander in chief. Both men were struggling with their new roles. While China and Japan were more stabled, there were many other nations that needed to be dealt. From what she had heard, Todoh was in Russia and Xingke on some island in the Pacific. She wondered if they still considered Lelouch as the Knight of Justice. Todoh was the only other Black knight who knew that Lelouch had planned his own death and though Xingke did not say anything, Kallen suspect the Chinese sword master likely suspected it as well.

She cursed herself for thinking about him again. She could not help it. Even after seeing that sword piercing his heart, even after watching his body buried in a small private funeral, Kallen could not bring herself to truly believe that he had died. She wrapped her arms around her half-naked body suddenly feeling cold. She missed him. She had probably said it over a thousand times but she missed him. Kallen did not know if she could move on with her life.

**6:00 am**

**Britannia, Imperial Palace**

The next day, Kallen found herself in New Pendragon rushing to attend a meeting ordered by the Empress. Gino had called her that Zero had called for an emergency military meeting. While Kallen did not trust the new Zero to do as she did with Lelouch, she did not doubt the seriousness of the situation.

The half-Britannian girl rushed past the grey uniformed guards, not bothering to return their salute. She was Japanese at heart and the uniform and standard procedures of Britannia were something she had a hard time getting used to. Despite her status as only an honorary Round, she was required to wear the knight uniform. Her red cloak fluttered madly as she took a turn and leapt off a balcony landing in front of her fellow knights who were waiting patiently at the entrance of the conference room, startling some of them.

"Sorry, I'm late." Kallen said as she straightened herself before them. Gino Weinberg grinned widely at her display while Anya just nodded. The rest took a moment before they recovered.

"You made it just in time, Kallen," Zero's voice appeared from the side. A familiar helmed black and violet figure gestured them to go inside the room. Kallen fought to keep her reactions normal. She was the only one here who knew of Zero's true identity, Suzaku Kurrugi, her old enemy and rival during the war. While, they had finally made peace with each other, Kallen still did not forgive him for killing Lelouch even though she knew that he was just following orders. Leaving any thought behind she followed the former Japanese knight inside. It was decorated like most Britannian rooms with carpets, tapestries, paintings and shields bearing various coat of arms with the exception of a large round table, a legacy left by King Arthur.

"As you all know, Britannia is in the brink of a civil war," Zero started once everyone had seated. "The Dukes and Barons of the South are already in open rebellion while the nobles in the north are doing it quietly. It is only a matter of time before they start an attack. As knights, it is our sworn duty to protect the Empress and our people from any threat so each of you will be sent to different parts of the Empire and lead our local forces against the rebels."

"But Zero, our forces can barely call itself an army." Winston Willard, the new Knight of Seven, a blonde man in his early twenties pointed out. "For every Knightmare we field, they can field five with ten more beside them. They can overpower us with numbers alone."

"That's why the Black knights are sending their troops to help right?" Anya asked quietly and Zero nodded.

That brought mixed reactions amongst the Britannians and several glanced their way to Kallen.

Kallen on the other hand, smiled. It was a good chance for the loyalist Britannian army to work together with the Black knights to heal old wounds. She found herself to be actually impressed by Suzaku's Zero.

"But still, you're right, Willard. We are still outnumbered and not all of Round members are here. We have no choice. We'll have to recall all Knights to return to the homeland. Other than the six of us, who else is free?"

"Alleria's here fighting in California. Isaac and Decker are on their way back from the South African racial dispute," Gino answered. "But Henderson and James are caught in the Burmese Civil War."

"How about non-Round members loyal to the crown?" Kallen asked, speaking for the first time.

"There're needed where they are," Zero explained. "Princess Cornelia took most of them when they left." Of course, as ever the soldier, Cornelia's right where the metal meets the meet. The former princess now commander in chief was leading an army in Southern Britannia. With Schneizel on a diplomatic mission at the UFN Council, everything else was left in the hands of the Knights of the Rounds and many of the knights were glad Zero decided to stay in Britannia.

"This doesn't look good," Mellenia Evergreen, the new Knight of Nine in her purple cloak muttered. "We're stretched pretty thin even with the Black Knights here. They could easily send an army to besiege the Capital."

An officer in the red uniform of the Empress's personal guard appeared on the roundtable which startled Kallen who belatedly realising it was a monitor screen.

"Milord, our forces in Texas is under attack by the rebels. The regional commander asks for assistance."

"I'll go." Willard spoke at once, waiting for the rest to nod before dashing off.

"I'd better go along with him," said Gino. "Two knights are better than one." With a wink at Kallen, the blond knight raced after him. Despite his annoying flirting personality, the red head found his presence more comforting than the rest of the knights and his departure suddenly made her feel slightly awkward.

"The rest of us will return to our stations and wait for any more attacks. Our first priority is to defend the Empress." Zero said, standing up.

Nodding, the knights departed their separate ways. Kallen however, remained in her seat. The masked knight waited for everyone else to leave before speaking up.

"How was that?" He asked, starting to take off his helmet.

"Quite fine." Kallen replied with a smirk. "Of course, Lelouch was way better."

"Well, I'm not Lelouch." Suzaku revealed his now long brown hair. Since he had become Zero, the Japanese knight had focused his entire life on trying to make the world better. Looks did was the last thing on his mind.

"You look pathetic with that hair," The red head commented, seemingly starting a normal conversation though Suzaku knew that she just trying to avoid talking about Lelouch which they somehow do whenever they talk. He suspected the girl to be in love with him. If things were back during Ashford, he would have teased Lelouch for causing so many girls to fall for him.

"Well, Zero doesn't show his looks to the public so why should I care. And besides, when did Lelouch cared about his?" He felt a little stupid talking about looks. "I'm sorry. I'm just so stressed up with all of this."

"Well, that's your curse for killing the man who gave his own life for this world." Kallen snapped, equally sharp.

"Look! I was just following orders!"

Kallen scoffed. "Sounds just like you…a dog listening only to orders."

"Well you're no different seeing how you served him all this time without question…" He said it rather sharply and Kallen flinched at the words. Realising that he had struck a sensitive spot, he quickly apologised.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that…." But Kallen interrupted him, her eyes were already wet with tears.

"We're never going to end this if we keep talking about it." She suddenly spoke angrily. "If there isn't anything, I'll see you again some other time." The half-Britannian gave a mock a salute and walked out of the room, leaving Suzaku alone. The former honorary Britannian knight remembered how bad tempered she was and how she still have not forgive him for going through with the Zero Requiem. He had wondered why Lelouch did not picked Kallen to be his Knight of Zero. It was probably because he knew she would not have been able to do it.

The new Zero looked around and saw a computer showing the line of Britannian Emperors and saw Lelouch there.

Remembering Kallen he chuckled lightly. "Well, Lelouch, even after all that's happened, all you did, there's someone who won't believe what you did..."

**Well, how was it? And sorry, no Lulu yet. I figured it's too early for him to enter the stage. So Read and Review. While I want to know my flaws so I can improve them on my next chapter, please be polite with it.** **Appreciate it a lot. And of course, THANKS A LOT FOR READING IT!**


	2. Chapter 1: War Again

**Well, I think the ending of the first chapter wasn't really good. I'll try to do it better in the next one. Didn't expect to get the first review in a day. Haha, thanks "random reviewer" and as promised here is the second chapter. Hope I didn't screw up.**

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**10:30 a.m. Central Britannia, New England**

_**Dear Kallen-san,**_

_I hope you are doing well in Japan. How is everything going? I heard that Ohgi-san has been re-elected again. That is good news. Things must be going smoothly in Japan now._

_Though I would like to say things are the same here, it is not. There are enemies who still want the old Britannia back and our troops are having trouble maintaining order and Zero could not be at every place._

_The Knights of the Round are needed once again to serve the people but their ranks are badly decimated during the war. We need people who can fight with the strength and courage of a lion with the wisdom of an owl. I believe you are one of them. I know you have suffered much during the war and the last thing you want to do is to jump into that nightmare again. Believe me if I can live normally again like we did before the Great War, I would. Would you become a Knight of the Round and help me like you did with my brother?_

_**Warmest regards to your mother,**_

_**Nunally**_

Kallen looked at the letter again to remind herself why she was still in Britannia. Personally, she hated the place. It was cold, bright and far too luxurious for her tastes. She preferred something more spartan. The former resistance member had found herself time and time again lost in the enormous palace and more than once she had to ask one of the Imperial Guard to escort her.

_This is why I hate Britannia!_ She thought angrily to herself.

Kallen Kozuki wore an elaborately designed Knightmare uniform as she prepared to go to the hanger. She knew it was part of the "military protocol" but that does not mean she could not hate it.

After arguing with Suzaku, Kallen met Nunnally on the way out of the palace who was feeding a flock of doves in the Imperial Gardens.

* * *

**Earlier 8:30 am in the Imperial Palace**

"Hello, Kallen-san." The Empress greeted in Japanese as Kallen approached the young ruler. Nunally threw some more crumbs into the large white mass. The birds jumped slightly at Kallen's presence but then ignored her and continued with their meal. They were in the Palace Gardens near the lake.

"Nunally-chan," Kallen replied as she bent down to look at Nunally who bent slightly to get more bread crumbs from a bag by the wheel-chair's side. It was the first time she had gotten a closer look at Nunally and noticed how familiar she looked like her mother from the paintings she had seen. She had light sandy blonde hair from her father and facial features of her mother. Her violet eyes were beautiful and spoke of her wisdom, kindness and determination. Much like the way she saw in Lelouch.

"Here." Nunally pour a handful crumbs into Kallen's hand, surprising her. Before she knew it, a dozen doves were crawling all over her. Several landed on her head and shoulders.

"Hey…cut it out!" She shouted, laughing when one dove landed near her neck, tickling the red-haired teenager. "They seemed to love you, Kallen." Nunally laughed and took more crumbs and threw it over Kallen, causing more doves to come.

"Well, I'm not the only one." Kallen said, taking some and throwing over to the Empress.

* * *

"I'm really glad her majesty got Kozuki around. Despite all her wisdom, she is after all a young girl." A long haired man of twenty eight told his companion. He wore gold trimmed green uniform of Prince Schneizel's royal guard.

"Yes, but it is shocking that someone who hold such wisdom and kindness had a demon of brother." A slender, dark-haired man adjusted his dark sunglasses. He wore the maroon red uniform also gold trimmed. This man however bore a gold tripped sabre on his left hip indicating his status as a knight.

"Yes, it is surprising, Sir Gilbert. I find it hart to believe myself. But there are things you need to take note of though, about our latest Emperor."

"What do you mean, Kanon?" Cornelia's knight asked. Guilford wore sunglasses even though not sunny at all. Kanon was not really surprised. After the war, he went through a surgery to treat his wounds from the F.L.E.I.J.A. blast. He tried to brush the matter off but Princess Cornelia insisted that he went through it. Though Cornelia claimed that a wounded knight could not possibly serve her, Kanon knew that the princess harbour feelings for the Spearhead of the Empire. The treatment was successful though Guilford was no longer blind, he still could not expose his eyes to sunlight.

"Well, for one, Zero was able make it easily pass a unit of Vincents commanded by Jeremiah which crushed our forces at Mt. Fuji, _single-handedly_. Don't you think that's a little suspicious? For all his brilliance Lelouch couldn't defeat a single knight."

"Actually, I did. But then I thought everyone was too shocked to see that his alter ego Zero appeared."

"True. What did Princess Cornelia say about this?" The former Earl paused to smile as another flock of doves joined the current one which was still jumping around Kozuki and the Empress.

"They say birds of the feather flock together, eh?" The knight joked, laughing but then controlled himself as he addressed Kanon's question. "The Princess thought the same, though she has yet to talk about it. Maybe it's too painful her. He is after her blood despite everything. I remember that she used to love Lelouch a lot after her highness Euphemia. It must have hurt a lot."

"Agreed...perhaps he had planned…" He stopped when Guilford reached for his COM link.

"Guilford here. Zero?" Kanon's eyes narrowed, suspecting something bad. True enough, the royal knight's eyes widened with surprise. "What?! The rebels have taken over New York? Alright, I'll call her." He hung up and turned to the royal adviser.

"The purists have taken New York. Apparently they had some inside work but that's not the problem. A large strike force has been spotted and is heading for this direction! How did they get pass all our troops without knowing anything...?"

"Must be that prudent duke Oxbridge. Get the Guard, I'll call Kozuki."

As Guilford ran back to the palace bellowing orders, Kanon turned to the girls. He bowed upon reaching the Empress.

"Your highness, a rebel strike force have gotten pass our defences. Knight of Two, Zero said he'll need your Elite Guard on the front."

"He can have it after I get in my Guren." Kallen took out her key to her Guren, which she had been keeping since Lelouch's death.

"Good luck, Kallen-san. Please take care." Nunally said with a smile.

"Thanks, Nunally." Kallen turned to Kanon and nodded before sprinting off with the speed of horse. The former noble looked after the young woman before chuckling in amusement.

"She's really a wild one."

**11:00 am Central Britannia, New England**

Kallen in the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N and launched herself out of the hanger followed closely by a squadron of Float system equipped Akatsuki Jikisanshiyō and two squadrons of Black Knight valiants of the Vincent. It was her first time she piloted the red Knightmare since the Great War. She had been forced to use a Commander Type Vincent given to her by Cornelia in the recent skirmishes against the rebels while Rakshata tried to rebuild and repair the badly damaged Guren. She was glad to be back in her old friend now that they would be fighting a full scale battle instead of minor skirmishes.

Her squadron was joined by two other Britannian squadrons of airborne Vincent Wards and Gloucesters.

"Attention all ships. Move on to sector A." General Alexandros ordered as a large white and orange air-cruiser appeared near the Black Knights which their leader recognised as the _Lionheart, _a capital-ship similar to the _Avalon_. Two grey-green _Caerleon_-class cruisers appeared beside it serving as an escort to the capital ship. Beside the cruisers were two more Knightmare squadrons.

"All wings report in."

"Zero leader standing by." Kallen replied at once. While the other leaders reported in, Kallen took a closer look at the enemy army from her monitor screen and saw a large number of violet and purple Knightmares likely airborne Sutherlands and a few Wards. Behind them was a large capital ship, a _Logres_-class one so this army was probably commanded by a powerful noble, Kallen thought.

"Enemy flagship hailing us," A Britiannian voice spoke through all channels. "All units stand by."

Kallen, like she usually did in her previous battles, took a closer look at the enemy army. They certainly outnumbered them by a large margin, and though the Imperial forces had superior Knightmares in form of more Vincent Wards, the rebels could still overwhelm them by sheer numbers. They were numerous as gnats and Kallen wondered how they were able to field so many Knightmares. They could start another great war with this. Then suddenly the rebel Knightmares were moving forward.

"Enemy forces are attacking. All units prepare to engage!"

"That ends any negotiations…" She muttered as Kallen gripped her controls in anticipation. She had never felt more alive since the battle of Tokyo. Her machine suddenly beeped a warning and the Black Knight ace pulled her Guren up.

From the purist rebels, two massive crimson-black beams shot out, irradiating anything in its path. The Haldron cannon blast continued, striking one of the _Caerleon_-class cruisers on its side. While the Blaze Luminous shielding managed to save the ship from being destroyed, it left the flank exposed to any more attacks.

"Bloody hell! Where in blazes did they get those?!" A Britannian in the Black knights shouted.

"Off the bodies of your regiment in New York," A grim voice replied.

Kallen ignored them and opened her channel to the _Lionheart_. It probably came from some big cruiser, judging from the beams' size it was much larger than the Haldron cannons the _Ikaruga _had.

"General, we've got to destroy that thing before it tears the fleet into pieces."

"I know. Kozuki, take your Guard and flank them. We'll keep the distracted here."

"Flank?" An officer asked. "But the flagship is already there. We can just hit it with our turrets and end the battle."

"They don't have the cannons, you idiot!" The large general shouted, causing Kallen to smile. "They have it somewhere behind that nest. They on purposely had the flagship in front so we'll think they had fired it especially since its cannons can not be retracted. Kozuki, I'm leaving you to find them."

"With pleasure! Black knights follow me!" The Black Knight ace grinned and lunched forward to the left followed by her Elite Guard. Though she initially had little respect for the Britannian commanders, Kallen had come to admire Lord General Sir Harold Alexandros. Aging already 58, with his greying white hair and incredible height and size the Britannian general was still an imposing sight. A former royal knight to Emperor William de Britannia, he was an old warhorse that was known for his military experiences in the E.U. and Africa. Though not as brilliant as Lelouch, he suppressed both Todoh and Guilford and heck maybe even Cornelia herself. She also appreciated his non-racist views and called each races by their own names instead of numbers which some Britannians on their own side still keep using.

Their movement did not go unnoticed as a unit of purple Knightmares broke off the main group and followed them. Kallen grinned. These purist idiots did not know who they were messing with. She led them on and on away from the battle. They were led by a Gloucester with green shoulder guards. It was probably some arrogant noble who wanted the glory of destroying the Crimson Lotus.

She suddenly wheeled the Guren around in full speed, passing her subordinates in a movement of blur, the radiation energy glowing in the Guren's hand.

* * *

The purist rebels' eyes widen with horror as they saw a blur of red. It was about five hundred metres away a moment ago and now it was right in front of them!

"It's the-" The pilot did not even have time to finish his sentence as his Sutherland exploded in a ball of fire.

"All units fire on the Guren!" Lord Tarpon, former Baron of New Chester shouted, firing a burst of rounds with his assault rifle. The Guren, he remembered was a living demon during the war. He knew that taking it down would not only destroy the best Knightmare the usurpers had but also the Black knights' finest pilot. He owed the monster a lot in the war.

"Come on, bitch! This is for Charles the true Emperor!"

Kallen smirked as the unit of Sutherlands led by one Gloucester tried to shoot her down with their rifles. The Guren dodged the shots as if they were nothing. She launched a radiation burst. The crimson beam caused the offending Knightmares to vibrate vigorously and explode into fireballs into the ground. The sole Gloucester bravely or foolishly threw down its rifle and charge forward with its MVS long sword.

"All hail Britannia!" The violet Knightmare thrust. Kallen parried the blow like it was nothing with a swift kick and sliced the Gloucester in half with her MVS forked knife.

Two more rebel units attacked her but a volley of sabot rounds behind her quickly destroyed them.

"Spread out in squads and destroy them, we've got technology in our side but they've got numbers. Don't let them surround you!"

"Hai!"

* * *

Harold Alexandros looked the screen as the red circles of the enemy spearhead disappeared to a blue circle. It was followed by dozen or so more.

"She really did earned the title of ace…"General Alexandros mused. The girl reminded him of his own daughter who had perished during an assassination attempt on him by rival nobles before. Putting aside any other thoughts, he addressed to his forces. "All wings engage!"

"Yes, milord!"

**On the frontlines**

With that all hell broke loose. Yellow-orange balls of flame appeared here and there in the sky and on the ground while cruisers exchanged fire amongst themselves. A unit of rebel Vincent Wards hovered above the _Lionheart_ raining lead and explosive rounds on it, but a quick missile barrage took down most of them and sent the survivors fleeing. Jet-black Knightmares of Black Knights and the violet and maroon of the Imperial forces clashed with the green and purple of the rebels. Two more shots from the giant Haldron cannons were fired on the Imperial forces. This time however, it took out an entire Knightmare squadron and fatally damaging the _Wallace_, the _Caerleon_-class that was hit before.

Lord Guilford in his new silver and violet Vincent wreck havoc on the rebel forces with his two double blades MVS. While he was supposed to be with his princess now, Cornelia had asked him to look over her sister. Remember how she was when Euphemia had been killed, Guilford swore to defend the Empress with his life. His first blow took a Ward's head clean off and the royal knight turned around thrusting one of the blood-red blades into the chest, destroying both machine and pilot.

A Gloucester with its lance charged at Guilford who mused. After piloting the medieval-styled Knightmare for most of the war, he knew its manoeuvre better than anyone else, perhaps save his princess. And now this arrogant fool thinks he could skewer him? The bespectacled knight grabbed the lance with a hand and sliced it in half with the MVS. The rebel fell back, shooting out its slash harkens but Guilford just dodged them and ran the Gloucester through. The Knightmare fell with an explosion. Three Sutherlands appeared behind him, their guns blazing as they advanced towards Guilford. The knight smirked and gunned his Knightmare up high above the outdated purple Knightmares and pulled out his own rifle and sprayed rounds into them, destroying them in seconds.

"Too easy," Guilford commented.

"Guilford now is the time!" General Alexandros' voice ordered.

"Right! This is Guilford, all units press on! We will take them out with one sweep!"

"Long Live the Empress! Long Live Britannia!" The Knightmare pilots shouted and charged forward, the Gloucesters at their head with the Wards switching to their MVS behind them. The first rebel ranks were easily broken by the fierce attack while the second line was forced to pull back.

"They're falling back!" A soldier shouted. Cheers from other units could be heard.

"Don't celebrate yet!" Guilford warned. "The battle's far from over…"

**At the flank of the Purist Forces**

"Agrah!" A pilot screamed as a large purple blade pierced through his controls and finally into his chest. The legendary Zero squadron had cut its way through their enemies' ranks like knife through butter. They were Zero's best and the spearhead of the Black knights.

"Zero-Five and Two watch your back!" Kallen warned as she fired her radiant disks at some Sutherlands. She then saw two more of her Akatsuki firing at a modified version of a Gloucester Commander Type which was using its lance to deflect the shots.

"Three and Four use your swords. Guns don't work on that thing!"

"Hai!" Kallen then joined the fray, jumping into a unit of Sutherlands.

"Kallen-san! Watch out!" A Black knight warned in Japanese as Kallen was blocking the Sutherlands' attacks. Her warning system beeped again and Kallen zoomed out of the way as a giant blood-red and black beam passed her by an inch. The Sutherlands however were in the way and were turned to dust. The beam did however manage to hit a part of her chest.

"Are you alright?" The knight asked again.

"It's just a scratch, Sakura. I'm fine. How's our forces?"

"We're not hit but that blast took out both Falcon and Eagle squadrons on the front lines!"

"Damn! Come on, we need to destroy that cannon!" She decapitated a Sutherland in her way with her knife as she made her way through the fray into the rebel lines. Her squadrons had so far lost no one yet and that was good as a hundred or so Gloucesters were waiting for them.

"Kallen-san? We've found our giant Haldron cannon." A member of her squad spoke up. "It's the one crawling with Gloucesters." He sent his visual to Kallen. Her eyes narrowed. There were about over a hundred of them surrounding, a modified _Caerleon_-class except its turrets were replaced by oversized cannons.

Kallen allowed a short smile. Now the hunter had become the hunted.

"All wings! Report in. Zero squad, follow me! We need to take that monstrosity out! Blue group, gold group, hold off the Gloucesters while we do!"

"Yes, milord!" The Britannian squadrons responded. Kallen found it a little flattering and a little appalled at their response. The former because she was used to the curt replies of simply "yes" or "no" or at least a "sir" and the latter because it reminded her too much of the way how old Britannian soldiers shout before they slaughtered the Japanese back during the Black Rebellion.

The Gloucester pilots here were much more skilled than the ones they had so far fought and put up a staunch defence. Using their old but still efficient lances, several of them charged at their attackers while the rest used their rifles to provide support fire. Her units' losses started to increase from nil to a dozen now. Knowing that she would need to end the battle before her squadrons get destroyed or the Haldron cannons finish off the fleet, Kallen with her Zero squad charged into the enemy.

With a battle-cry, the Black Knight ace cut a bloody swathe through the rebels, using her forked knife and energy wings, beheading and decapitating anything in her way. Behind her, the Black knight Vincent Wards and Akatsukis attacked whatever she had left. Their revolving blades and MVS slashed and thrust, leaving explosions and pieces of metal falling down behind. One Akatsuki gripped its revolving blade katana with both hands and cut a broad swathe at Gloucester. The Britannian Knightmare attempted to block with its lance only to break in half. The swing continued and cleanly cut the Gloucester in half from the torso.

"Enough!" Kallen shouted. "Focus your attacks on the carrier!"

"Hai!"

**Lol….Cliff hanger! It's soo fun to do that! So how is it? And no Lulu yet...sorry. Hope the battle scenes are good. I had a hard time doing it. If there's any way I can improve it let me know. Oh by the way, New England here in the central parts of our US not the East. I changed the Britannian battle-cry of "All hail Britannia!" to "Long live" because though the first one sounds way cooler it sounds sorta evil. Please tell me your views on this because I'm not sure if I should stick with it.**


	3. Chapter 2: The Scarlet Saviour

**Wow, over 200 hits already? That is something I did not expect. Well, for all of you there I hope you enjoy reading this as I had to do a lot of research here. Read & Review! (Re-edited version)  
**

"They're taking the bait." A man in his late 50s stood looking at the battle on the screen, pleased with the results. The silver trimmings on his green-blue uniform glittered in the command bridge. His great red beard was mixed with grey. Tiny blue red and dots clashed in many individual battles. The blue (their own forces) outnumbered the red by at least three to one but one red would only disappear only after taking down at least two blue.

"So it seems." A man agreed. "30 degrees to port! Ready the Haldron cannons to full power. We're going to New Pendragon. If we can hit the Imperial fleet from here with only 20% of power, we raze the Imperial Palace at 80%." He grinned.

* * *

"Banzi!" A Black knight cut down his Gloucester opponent. He used his custom gun to fire at an advancing enemy. This one however, deflected his shots with its Blaze Luminous shield and readied its lance in a swinging mode. The Japanese pilot swung his sword to meet the upcoming attack but the bulkier weapon knocked the sword aside. The Gloucester pulled back for a thrust and skewered the Black knight before his could react.

Before the purist could move however a large metallic claw pierced out from his back, causing the Knightmare to explode as well.

Kallen cursed as she failed to save her fellow member. Withdrawing the arm, the Crimson Lotus dodge a lance thrust and skewer the Knightmare with her energy wings.

"This is taking too long!" Kallen muttered. Another squadron of Gloucesters was sent out after they had reached the carrier. They had to deal with both the turrets and missiles from the ship as well as the enemy Knightmares before they could even get close to the attacking the ship itself.

"Kozuki!" Kallen heard General Alexandros' voice through her radio. "We're being overwhelmed here! Have you taken out that ship?" There was an explosion in the background.

"General, we've found the ship but heavily defended. Will take some time…"

"I know, lass." The general's voice was unusually soft. "Just make sure you take it down before we're all dead, eh?"

"Yes, milord!" Kallen smiled at the answer and switched channels. "The Britannians are in trouble! We need to hurry. Zero Two and Three try to draw their missile turrets from our forces. Zero Four and Six destroy their engines. Five and Seven with me! We're taking that cannon down!"

With that Kallen moved ahead of her squadron, trusting them to be able to hold of the enemy. Meanwhile her Elite Guard is beginning to take higher losses. She needed to be quick.

As soon as she reached her destination, several turrets fired their missiles at her. Kallen used her radiation burst to destroy the projectile weapons. Using its slash harkens to spear several of the turrets the Black knight ace pulled her Knightmare on thecarrier itself, on the starboard side. Anti-Knightmare gattling cannons started to fire at the Guren, their sabot rounds were strong enough to pierce through Knightmare armour-_if_ they could get pass her radiation burst. Using it as her shield, Kallen worked her way down the ship's main cannons which were at its head. Every once in awhile an enemy Knightmare would appear out of nowhere but they were dealt by Zero Five and Seven. Their Akatsukis were superior to the Sutherland and Gloucesters and the pilots were amongst the best the Black knights had.

"What the hell-" The ship suddenly rumbled and the Guren almost went out of balance. Wait. The ship was changing course! Kallen pulled her Knightmare back to see where the ship was going.

"It's heading…towards…east? But why leave in the middle-" Then it struck her. The battle…the whole battle was a diversion. A trick. The large number of Knightmares…the flagship in the front of the fleet…the hidden cannon…it was all part of their plan…

_'If we are able to turn the tide of the battle then this ship will be allowed to escape and attack Pendragon and if we destroy this ship it will be too late to save the Imperial fleet from destruction. But why didn't they just use the ship to destroy the fleet?' _Kallen thought. It was probably because it would have been a perfect target. But time for such thinking was not now.

Her alarm system rang again as a large slash harken suddenly speared at the Guren. She managed to block it with her surger arm but the impact forced her back.

"The Red Lotus! Finally we meet!" A sadistic female voice laughed from her radio.

An orange coloured Knightmare with gold trim shoulder plates hovered above her. It was similar to the Percival in appearance but it had yellow energy wings as well. Knowing she was facing a powerful opponent Kallen readied her Guren in battle stance.

A young violet-haired woman of her own age appeared on her monitor screen wearing a similar pilot uniform as the Knights of the Round except for the silver and gold trims indicating her nobility status. Her face was gentle but her green eyes showed only cruelty. And those eyes reminded her of someone…someone very familiar…

"Look familiar?" The woman sneered. "I am Luna Bradley. And I have come to avenge my brother Luciano Bradley whom you murdered!"

"Murdered?" Kallen snorted at the statement. "I find it ironic since I'm accused of murdering the man who fights specifically because it allows him to freely kill people in public."

"Well, I guess that runs in the family…" Luna agreed. "Anyway, you're still going to die, bitch."

"Come on then!" Kallen brandished her forked knife. "We'll see who the real bitch is!"

The two women then clashed with incredible speed, piloting Knightmare Frames with Energy Wing Systems. The strange Knightmare was not wielding any weapon yet, using slash harkens and the energy wings to battle. Kallen for once in a long time found herself being pressured. This Luna was Luciano's relative alright. She gave no regards her allies either as Luna used one of her harkens to strike one of the rebel Gloucesters and hurled it at the Guren. Kallen let loose of a radiation burst to destroy it mid-air but the blood thirsty noblewoman then tackled her as she did causing the Guren back. The Red Lotus however was even better in hand to hand and Kallen used her surger arm to punch the strange Knightmare. The blow caused Luna back but she then lung forward again this time with her energy wings. Kallen met the attack her own wings and engaging a fearsome duel.

From a far, the Black knights and their Britannian allies could only see a clash of between a purple and yellow blur.

The two were evenly matched when suddenly the ship halted. Kallen's fears had become true. Since the Capital was so near the battle the ship was now likely now in range, and that means Nunnally was in danger! The thought of losing Nunnally like losing Lelouch suddenly brought more anger in her. She had failed Lelouch and she will not fail Nunally!

"Agrah!" Kallen used forked knife to cut a broad swathe across Luna causing the noblewoman to dodge away lest she gets beheaded. Taking the chance, the Black Knight ace charged forward to the Haldron cannons as red energy was being gathered.

Kallen then got in front the enormous Cannons and used her radiation burst in full energy to form a large barrier on it. She knew that her radiation energy may not be able to contain all the Hadron blasts at least not without killing herself but she had no choice. It was either hers or the lives of an entire city.

The beams fired and struck her barrier hard forcing the Guren back. Red lights were all ringing in Kallen's machine.

"So you decided to risk your own life to save others? You are indeed worthy of being called a knight…" Luna said it sarcastically.

_"Just like Lelouch…"_ Kallen mused.

"Kallen-san!" Sakura and several other Black knights charged in their Akatsukis but the noblewoman just used her energy wings and tore them to pieces in mere seconds.

"NO!" Kallen shouted seeing her comrades dying but not being able to do anything due to her blocking the beam. Luna then turned towards the Black Knight ace.

"I've been saving for this moment!" The Knightmare finally drew its weapon the same identically weapon her brother used the MSV particle drill-lance. Kallen nodded and closed her eyes. If she had to die then so be it.

"For Lu-!" The drill-lance arm suddenly exploded, surprising both Kallen and Luna.

"What in the name-" A crimson slash harken suddenly shot out and struck the customised Percival. Three small Haldron beams and a volley of sabot followed causing it to back off. Kallen looked around to see her rescuers and her eyes grew wide in surprise and awe.

A blood-red and silver Vincent suddenly appeared hovering protectively the Guren. The eyes of the Knightmare were violet instead of the usual green. Behind the Knightmare, a squadron of Gareths appeared.

"Guren! Take care of the ship. We'll deal with her!" A voice suddenly said from Kallen's radio. Kallen did not answer. She was not shocked by the sudden appearance of these new Knightmares. It was by the voice. It sounds so familiar.

"Hah! You think that old class Knightmare can match a ninth generation Knightmare?!"

The red Vincent gave no response but suddenly pulled out a gun which looked like the VARIS rifle, the type which the Lancelot used and fired at the arrogant noblewoman. Luna of course dodged and the beam suddenly exploded behind her. Laughing, she charged at the red-silver Knightmare when suddenly her energy wings suddenly lost power.

"Ugrah! Who did that?!" She demanded but no one was there behind her. The Vincent then pulled out its MVS dual blade sword and charged. Luna shot out her slash harkens but the red-silver Knightmare caught the harkens together by spinning its weapon, then slicing them as the blades turn ruby red.

"Damn so you used an energy disturber? Pretty smart." The knight knew that the Vincent was no match for her custom Knightmare if she had the Energy wing System.

Despite everything, the Percival like-Knightmare still had some fight as it was able to dodge any attacks the Vincent made though it was unable to perform any proper attacks or rely on its speed. But the red was incredibly fast

Kallen wanted to crush the noblewoman while she's at her weakest but she had more important things to do. Her radiation blast had actually held out and as the cannon's beams disappear she used all her remaining radiation energy to one powerful blast to destroy the abomination.

"Go to hell!" She shouted as she fired, remembering all the faces of her squadron members and the Britannian knights who gave their lives for Nunnally.

The cannon turned crimson red as it was filled with radiation energy before started to explode slowly as the Guren got out of the way. She then saw missiles and crimson beams firing from the Gareths at the cruiser. The ship was starting to disintegrate into burning inferno.

"Reinforcements from the Empress, milady!" A Black knight reported.

"Yeah, I already know." Kallen snapped as she turned to find that the noblewoman only to find her gone. However a monitor screen appeared again with the young violet haired woman's glaring at her.

"Well, Kozuki. It seems we'll have to finish our business some other time, thanks to your knight in bloody armour. But we'll be seeing each other again real soon!" With that the transmission was out.

"And I'll be waiting…" Kallen said grimly. She was wondering where her rescuer was when something exploded from another of the rebel's _Caerleon_-class ships. A blur of crimson caught her attention and she turned to follow hoping to contact the pilot.

**On the frontlines**

Guilford clenched his teeth as he struggled against the lances of five Sutherlands and three Gloucesters. He and the survivors of the Haldron blasts were now fighting badly against the larger army.

"Guilford," A voice suddenly appeared on an unknown channel, startling Cornelia's knight. "Watch your left." Guilford instantly turned and parried a lance blow. He then took out the Sutherland's head.

_"Who is this man?"_ He thought as the voice came again.

"Dive your Knightmare down twenty metres." Guilford was flabbergasted by the command.

"What? Who are you? Why should-"

"If you want to live…" The voice responded and Guilford's alarm system rank and he did as told.

"Ha! Coward of a knight!" A rebel whom he was engaging sneered. "Why-" The man was cut off as a barrage of missiles struck him and his comrades from out of nowhere.

While still wondering who this mysterious voice was, Guilford nevertheless appreciated his help. A red blur suddenly appeared on his screen. It was probably the commander of their reinforcements.

"My thanks, fellow knight. Your timing is just right."

"No need for thanks. Come on. We have a battle to win here."

The crimson Vincent flew around the battlefield sending many transmissions to different groups and turning the tide of the battle. His tactics were quite startling as he gave quite outrageous orders and the plan only revealed itself at the last minute. The Imperials started to obey his commands as if he was their superior as he would be able to lead them to victory.

Unfortunately the rebels noticed it too and many squadrons were now focused on the red knightmare. Strangely it did not attack and soon a large number of Knightmares were chasing it. The Vincent was approaching the rebel cruisers which were engaged with those of the Imperials when it sent another transmission this time to the Red squadron.

"Red leader, fire all your missiles across the _Maiden_."

"But, sir," The knight protested. "There is no target." There was absolutely nothing there.

"DO IT NOW, SOLDIER!" The voice roared and the entire Red squadron's Gareths fired all their ballistic weapons out. The red leader was wondering if it was a trick when a flash of red passed them and the missiles they sent clashed with perhaps about fifty to sixty rebels. The heat seeking missiles then followed the red Vincent.

"Good heavens..." The pilot muttered, completely awed by the spectacle. He just led more than three to five squadrons into a missile barrage with incredible accuracy. And now he's leading the missiles the squadron shot in form of a swarm of angry locus.

Suddenly worried the might hit their own, the Red leader almost ordered to destroy them but the pilot instead told him not to. Confused but deciding to trust the voice, the Red leader wondered what the crazy knight was going to do.

**Meanwhile…**

"Guren, how is your machine?" Kallen startled when she heard the voice again. It was using a voice changer so she could not recognised but the tone…it sounded like…no…it can't be…can it?

"It's fine." She answered. "I still have 30% power. What do I need to do?" Maybe…just maybe it could be…

"Destroy the Blaze Luminous shield on the rebel cruiser in sector 9." The voice replied.

"Roger!" Using the remaining what's left of the radiation energy she blasted the shield on the cruiser. As the shield started to disappear, the pilot came again.

"Good job, pull back! You're not fit to battle now." For some reason, Kallen felt angry and wanted to snap at him that she had fought harder battles when her energy level started to shout a warning sound.

"Roger," She sighed as Kallen retreated back to the _Lionheart_.

But as she did, Kallen saw the red Vincent leading…are those missiles? Into the catapult of the cruiser. The attack took all combatants around by surprise as the missiles went in the ship like bees into their hive.

"He...just destroyed an entire carrier like that?" Kallen was unable to control herself and she watched the ship exploding into other pieces.

The scarlet and silver Vincent now appeared again out of the burning ship. He then gestured something to a squadron of Gareths that came along with him. The Knightmares took off and lay waste to the next ship in line with their heavy weaponary while another squadron of Wards arrived and supported the carnage.

Kallen tried to sent a transmission to their apparent rescuer but the channel was blocked. Feeling both frustrated that her Guren was almost out of power and angry at the pilot for blocking his channel, she landed in the _Lionheart_'s docking bay and got out of her Knightmare. She suddenly found her muscles aching and her head throbbing.

Though, the rebels still outnumbered the Imperials and the Black Knights, they retreated after losing both their giant Haldron cannons, more than half of their cruisers and probably over two hundred of their Knightmares. The surviving allied forces cheered as what would have been a bloodied defeat became an overwhelming victory.

The red Vincent finally after battling the rebels, retreated back to the _Lionheart._ The Knightmare hovered near the ship. The violet eyes turned to the glass-panel the Black knight ace was watching from. Kallen's heart raced. Who was this pilot anyway? He just made a miracle. She only knew one person who could have done the same. A thousand questions appeared in her mind. Her hands were trembling as she drank down her water.

General Alexandros and Guilford came into the hanger.

"Good job, lass. A splendid sword technique!"

"Thank you, sir." The Black knight ace smiled, feeling flattered. Guilford stepped forward to the window screen.

"I wonder who that knight is…" He muttered.

"I wish I know…" Kallen muttered as Alexandros and Guilford discussed the theory about the pilot. She ignored them and watched the Vincent then suddenly broke off and flew away disappearing into the distance.

* * *

"Red Knight here. Mission acomplised."

"Base control. Did you discover anything? Over." Another voice asked, with an unidentified accent.

"Afraid not." The pilot answered sadly. "Just helped save her majesty from those popinjays."

"Well, good job anyway," A different voice laughed. "At least, the purists are now crippled."

"Yeah. That will make things easier for us to infiltrate. There's someone among them who knows about the cult."

"Right but for now come back to base and rest. You earned it."

"Roger that, Base control. Red Knight, out."

The Knightmare pilot took of his helmet as he took out a small box from his pocket. A picture of a young man with dark hair and violet eyes appeared with the letters of _L.L_.

"I will get to the bottom of this, sire. **I swear it**."

* * *

**Well, what do you think? Yeah, I know the cannon scene seemed to be similar to that the Battle of Yavin in Starwars IV A New Hope but I loved that scene. It's one exciting scene. And what do you think of Luna Bradley? I welcome any advice to make this fanfic better. So if have any ideas to make her more sinister please feel free to add in your review.**** Don't know if you notice it but General Sir Harold Alexandros is obviously named after the British general Sir Harold Alexander. Well, Read & Review!**


	4. Chapter 3: Aftermath

**Hey people! Next chapter up! I want to thank the reviewers for their comments and advises and suggestions. They came in quite handy. I know many of you are expecting Lelouch to appear but our favourite Knight of Justice is still on his way. You all know his physical prowess. It'll take some time for him to arrive. But don't worry. He WILL appear. Just be patient. Also a note, this story may be a little farfetched and may not follow the original storyline so if you see anything weird that about the characters or the events, it's part of a bigger picture.**

***

**Central Britannia, New England**

**On board the **_**Lionheart, **_**Flagship of the Third Fleet**

Kallen was in the gym in the _Lionheart_, to train her martial art skills. It seems that was all she had been doing when she had nothing else to do. Clad in only a black sweat shirt and a pair of her Black knight shorts she stood in front of her target: a large brown punching bag. Her bare feet gripped the floor as she lowered her stance, fists raised.

She should have been resting as although the rebels had been defeated, they were still a constant threat. And now that they know the rebels had access to the Energy Wing system and the large Haldron technology it made them more dangerous. The rebel strike force that they had battled had managed to slip pass them again disappearing from them.

Whoever commanded the rebels, he was one slippery snake. Although his brilliant attack had failed, losing over five hundred Knightmares and several dozen cruisers, the remnants had disappeared. Literally disappeared! There was no trace or anything. The closest known rebel held land was Southshire which was in the north meaning it would be impossible to get there in a few days.

New York was another thing. The capture of the ancient city was a complete shock for the loyalists as it had been not only a powerful stronghold but also a strategic point as they could now sent troops into the heart of the Empire.

Yet, despite all of these problems it was that blood-red and silver Vincent that kept on bothering her. No one in the fleet could find its identity or the Knightmare's number and they have tried over six times. But something about it caused her so much interest. It was not the pilot's skills which she agreed were exceptionally great or his usage of such insane tactics but it was in the _way_ he used them and the way he commanded her and the other units… …they were all so familiar…Could…no…did she even dare hope…that _he_ was still alive?

Kallen shook her head violently. No. No matter how she wanted to believe it, Lelouch was dead. She had gone to his funeral saw the body. But yet part of kept on telling her that he was still around.

Confused, she let out all her frustration on the punching bag. She struck again and again, her strong but slender arms giving more power after each blow.

Kallen screamed, delivering each blow, mixed with elbow and knee strikes as well as kicks harder and faster. Though not a real martial artist like Xingke, Todoh or Suzaku, Kallen was a natural fighter and her blows were not just powerful but graceful as well, smoothly going to its target. She could hold on her own against stronger opponents using tactics and speed over them.

But right now Kallen was all content to throw everything she had on this practice dummy. Her vision reddened as frustration turned to anger and rage. Memories started to flow through her mind, the massacres of innocents in Japan, her brother's death, seeing Lelouch's face under Zero's mask for the first time, the betrayal of the Black knights, Lelouch as the Emperor.

"Agrah!" She gathered all her strength and delivered a roundhouse-kick all in one single smooth motion. A loud snap echoed the room, followed by a thud. Sweat flowed down her forehead as Kallen stopped to catch her breath. Her knuckles were red, throbbing with pain despite constant practice. She suddenly felt weak in her legs and sat down on the matt. Although it was just a quick little training, she felt extremely tired. Perhaps from the battle?

She stared at the broken and torn punching bag now lying on the floor. Some of the sand was spilling out. Kallen felt her throat burning and took a sip of water. The icy water cooled her well and she turned to grab her towel and bag.

The sound of chatter came behind in the hallway as a group of Britannian marines came along the corridor. Kallen suddenly wondered what the marines would do seeing she had broken one of their training tools not that she really cared.

Kallen ignored the soldiers who seemed surprised seeing what she did, trying to put on her sandals instead. If they found it amusing or otherwise, they did not say anything and just went along the corridor.

She went back to her room, throwing her bag on her bed and locking the door. Kallen massaged her temples trying to keep herself calm. Feeling that a nice warm bath would change her mood, she took of her sweat shirt and shorts, tossing them in the laundry and entered the bathroom taking off her pants and underwear along the way.

Kallen entered and allowed the warm water to flow down her slim but strong body. She smiled as the water relaxed her. It made her forget about everything else. The only time she could overlook any bad memories or failures was in the shower. She reached a bottle of shampoo and soaked them on her hair.

_Here. _A voice murmured. _Let me help you with that._ Kallen felt a pair of hands slowly moving down her hair. The Black knight ace tensed.

_Don't worry. I won't hurt you. I would never._ She relaxed as the hands went down to massage her neck and shoulders. She felt all the tensions disappeared with the touch. Kallen reached for the hands and pulled them around her smooth naked body.

"I miss you." She purred as she laid her head on his right arm.

_I miss you too._ Kallen looked over the mirror and saw him wrapping around his arm over her. His jet black hair was plastered to his head by the water. It made him look more attractive.

"Don't go." She pleaded. "Stay with me." Kallen reached for his hand, planting a kiss on it.

He smiled, turning to see the mirror as well as his hands continued to massage her. His lavender eyes were the same as the ones she had saw when she was in the Chinese Federation not the ones when he became the Emperor. His smile was genuine, no sarcasm or anything else.

_I wish I could._ He replied, and then he turned her around to face him. His slim body was well toned despite his physical weakness. His face was like it was carved by angels. _But now is time for you to be back in the reality. The world needs you. _He started to fade away.

"Wait! Will I ever see you again?" She tried to grab him but her hands went through him.

_The world needs you..._He murmured as he disappear in thin air.

Kallen suddenly felt her head jerked. Startled she turned around. She was still in the bathroom alone. Shampoo was still in her hands. She frowned. It was nothing but a dream and sadly put her shampoo on her hair and continued finishing her bath...

***

**Somewhere in Britannia**

A lone Knightmare in form of a silver-red Vincent flew over a wide forest. The blood-red frames on its armour gleamed in the low sun of noon. Despite the fierceness of the battle, it managed to get pass save for a few scratches from the Percival-Custom.

"Red knight to base. Requesting landing. Code G594915P." After a moment of silence, a voice replied.

"Code Verified. Opening hangers."

The Knightmare dove down like a falcon and landed just before it reached one peak. The ground was far too smooth to be natural though a glance would usually fool anyone. The scarlet mecha stood still as the walls rumbled and opened. The pilot just drove with ease into the hidden base with the doors closing after it.

"Welcome home, Red knight!" A tall blonde man in his early 20s called, as he approached the Knightmare. He wore a white sweat shirt and dark blue pants with knee high boots.

The Knightmare's cockpit opened and the pilot finally appeared, clad in a white and red uniform and a similarly patterned visored helmet. The man literally jumped down and walked towards the newcomer.

The blonde man put his hands on his hips and shook his head at his comrade.

"Honestly, Arthur, why do you need to bother wearing that helmet? Knightmares aren't like jets and you're not going underwater."

"You know why, Anduin." The pilot replied in a muffled voice. "I can't take any chances."

"You and your calculations." Anduin rolled his eyes as he led his friend to the door. The entire cavern revealed to be a military base. Lines of Knightmares rested in their stations with crews working on each of them.

"Nice performance by the way. You gave one hell of a show to the rebels and Her Majesty's forces."

"You know I don't really care about that. All that is important is that the Empress is safe."

In response, the blonde knight laughed.

"Whatever you say, sir." They reached the first security door and Anduin leaned against wall as they waited for the door to open. Anduin noticed something was wrong with his friend.

"Who do you think is behind all these recent attacks?" Anduin asked, his tone losing all of its humour. "I mean it's not just Britannia. Southeast Asia, Africa, hell even Europe!"

"I can't really say. With the war gone, it's the perfect opportunity for some to try and take control. I think the UFN is going to have a hard time." He paused.

"What is it?" Anduin asked frowning.

"The Black knights were there…at New England…"

The blonde's eyes lit up. "Really? That's good to hear. It's good politics too. The Britannian forces and the Black knights fighting a common enemy…"

Arthur however remained silent. Now Anduin was serious for though he could not see his facial expression under the helmet (which was probably why he still wore the bloody thing) Anduin knew Arthur Peregrine long enough to know when his fellow knight wanted to be alone.

"I'll go tell the others you're back." He started. "You know where to find me if you need me." He put a hand on his shoulder and took off into another corridor.

"The meeting's at two by the way!"

Arthur turned to where his friend had gone and frowned. He knew Anduin deserved a better clarification but nevertheless he appreciated his consideration. He would give him a proper explanation later.

The knight walked straight along the hallway and went to his own quarters. He finally reached to take off his visored helm. Arthur took out his box again leaving his helmet on his desk. It was a small computer and as he switched it on. It was a computerised journal of his lord.

A young man with black hair and violet eyes appeared on screen again.

_" Arthur Peregrine, your bloodline have served my family loyally since my mother's death and continued to do so after I ascended to the throne. Even after discovering what I did in the past, you still stood by me and I want to express my gratitude to you for your loyalty and the kindness your family had shown to us in the little time we spent in Britannia. I know you do not support this idea but thank you for following nevertheless. Though we've never met face to face, somehow I feel we already know each other." _He smiled_._

_"You are much like Jeremiah in many ways." _The man now looked hesitant. _"However, there is something else I need to do but I will not have time to finish it. I would have asked Jeremiah but he has suffered much, he deserved a peaceful life after his service." _

"I know." Arthur responded woodenly.

_"Thus before the Zero Requiem is completed, I must ask of you for one last favour…something that only you could do. After this message there will be a sequence of instructions for you to do…"_

The knight just nodded though his eyes were filled with pride.

"Of course, your highness…for by Blood and Honour…I serve…"

***

**Purist 3rd Fleet, Somewhere in Britannia**

"Where is he!?" Luna Bradley demanded at a pair of stoned face guards clad in green and white uniforms wielding ceremonial rifles though the bayonets were real.

"The Duke is still in the middle of a meeting. He doesn't wish to be disturbed." The guard captain replied calmly.

"I need to see him. Tell him that the House of Bradley is here to see him."

"Bradley?" The captain grimaced. "You don't look dangerous."

"Dangerous enough." She replied opening her ginger coloured cloak slightly revealing a wickedly curved bladed sabre by her side. Some ringing sounds indicated that she had various other weapons.

"Now fetch your master lest your arrogance brings you a swift death."

"The Duke will see no one. And it is you who should watch your manners." The soldier stated firmly.

"A quick one then since I don't really have time." She made a slashing motion and the guards shouted as they dropped down clutching their throats as blood poured from the wound.

Sheathing her weapon, Luna then used one of the dead guard's eye to access to the door-computer. With a hiss the electronic door slid away, revealing a hall way to a large room. The lady of Bradley heard a voice speaking.

"My lord Duke, with all due respect why did we retreat from the battle? We could have at least destroyed the Imperial fleet."

"Yes, Oxbridge. Why did you order the retreat? We could have crushed them." Luna spoke angrily as she joined them, not bothering to wipe the blood on her uniform. Some of the officers looked disapprovingly at her but she ignored them instead focused on Oxbridge.

"We had no choice." The Duke started, his calm was contrast to the anger and frustration of all the nobles around. He was one of the true purebloods coming from one of the old families who had crossed from the British Isles to the New World before it fell to the E.U. fleet under Napoleon. He was a tall man and big but not fat. He had a long pointed face, great red beard and eyes as blue as the sky. His uniform was an old nineteenth century style: white silk breeches tucked into knee long boots, a green-blue coat festooned with gold lace and aiguillettes and, on the coat's broad shoulders, thick white silk cushions hung with short golden chains, like most high ranking nobles would wear. The coat had violet facings and loops of scarlet braid about its turned back cuffs. The man's hat was a bicorne crested with red-dyed feathers held together by a badge of a golden lily. The Duke himself had led the attack on the capital but the destruction of it by the Imperials and the motherless Black knights forced him to flee. Bradley wondered how he was able to get in the ship before her.

"True we could have destroyed the Imperials but then we won't have the strength to fight any counter-attack from Pendragon. It IS the Capital after all and with cannons destroyed, and we won't have the firepower to repel their counter-attack never mind taking it."

Many of the nobles nodded understanding the logic while some took some time to get the idea into their head. The Duke said it simply enough even for their thick arrogant brains. Bradley did not say anything, her anger dissolving in the face of logic. Unlike her brother, she knew when the time to loss herself in a berserker rage was and when to use her head.

"It's that Vincent." Bradley muttered angrily remembering the blood-red Knightmare that stopped her from taking that half-breed's life. "It was because of that unit. I know it. Before it entered the battlefield we had it for the taking."

Everyone remembered the appearance of the unknown Knightmare that entered the field late battle and its presence suddenly stem the tide.

"I don't remember any prototype of the Lancelot to be that fast," said the Earl of Pembroke, a thin man in his forties with a bushy moustache who once served in the Royal Special Corp, now one of the most senior of the Purist Alliance. "There was the Vincent and the Ward but I don't recall one that fast. It had no Energy Wing System either."

"It's not just that. It's also that pilot. I notice it flying around leading different units into battle." One Margrave in a white coat muttered.

"Agreed. Such a skill could only be from an elite unit but what? We would know if it was one of the Rounds. Is there any unit it could be from?"

"Maybe it's from one of the newer ones?" A young Duchess suggested but the white-coat shook his head.

"Our spies would have told us if it was new."

"There was a Knight of the Round in the battle right? The other red one." Pembroke turned to the Margrave who nodded.

"Kallen Stadtfeld. A half-Eleven Black Knight. Captain of Zero's Elite Guard during the war I heard. Now the Empress made her a Round." He paused to spit. "The Knights had gone down the drain since that Eleven Kururugi had become one. Shameful it is. The Empress is now following her brother's path, ruining the pride of Britannia."

"Yes. She's from the same demon blood that flow through Vi Britannia. Their own mother would be ashamed of it."

"Save your personal opinions for later. Right now we must retreat and go north to re-supply and re-arm." Oxbridge poured some wine into his glass. "The House of Perwell and the others are still gathering their forces in the north. Once they meet up with my own House, we'll return in full force. The good thing is that the Imperials don't really know where the rebellions could start and that gives us the advantage."

"We will still have problem facing that Eleven and the other Rounds or that red Vincent." The Duchess warned.

"Don't worry about them. I'll take care of it." Bradley assured her with a vicious smile.

"Alright then. If that is all…" The Duke raised his glass and shouted "All hail Britannia!"

"All hail Britannia!!!" The men mimicked him and raised their own glasses, while Bradley silently sipped her own wine, relishing of the chance to drain the blood of that Eleven and that knight.

*******

**Ok, chapter done. Well as always please read and review. This chapter isn't my best so I want to apologise. It's just something to fill in the gap between certain events. And I'm very grateful for the reviews and story alerts. It encourages me a lot so thanks!**


	5. Chapter 4: Princess, Queen and Knight

**I'm so sorry for not updating for so long. My O level are next week so I have been studying for weeks. I had finished more than half of this chapter weeks ago but didn't have time to update it. I managed to finish it while I was practicing my English essay. I can't say much now. I'll be out for a while. Thanks for all your reviews.**

***** **

**Three weeks later in Southern Britannia, Venezuelan Coastal Range**

An entire squadron of Vincents exploded as Storm Hawk Anti-Knightmare missiles struck them. They were replaced by another squadron which barely managed to move any further as more missiles flew and exploded a few metres before the Knightmares, bombarding rocks and dirt on them.

The rebels were deeply entrenched in the Andes with heavy artillery and missile turrets covering their entire lines. Much of the forested areas were cut down to make trenches and bunkers for Knightmares and infantry. It was easy to defend and easy to counter-attack.

Cornelia li Britannia gritted her teeth as she used her machine gun to shoot down several rebel anti-Knightmare missiles that were descending on her personal unit. Taking this stronghold was extremely vital in this war as it was a large obstacle between the rebels in the rest of Britannia and the Imperial forces. Her Royal Guard was already moving protectively around her, while adding their fire power against the missile barrage.

"All units pull back!" She shouted through all channels. "Bring the 74th Armoured Division forward!" Cornelia told one of her knights. "All tanks are to concentrate their fire on the left flank. Bring along our Gareths as well. They're to take down any of those missiles."

"Yes, Your highness!" The knight replied and switched to another channel to relay the orders

Cornelia led her Royal Guard to the rear as their A-12 Malory Battle Tanks and RPI-V4L Gareths took their place. As the 125 mm calibre guns did their work on the enemy lines, the rebels launched another volley of missiles aiming at the tanks. The Malroys had not defence against the missiles but volleys of crimson beams and sabot rounds from the Gareths destroyed the rockets in a line of explosions mid-air.

Satisfied, Cornelia ordered her remaining forces to pull back to the rear behind the tanks along with her Royal guard in their customised silver and maroon Vincent Commander Models.

Just as the Britannian Princess was about to give another order, a transmission from her their Headquarters arrived.

"Your highness, we have received word from Pendragon that New York has fallen and a rebel strike force invaded New England and-"

"What!?" Cornelia pulled her violet Vincent in a sudden halt and literally shouted at the officer in the screen causing the soldier to jump. "How the hell did they get to Pendragon at the same time they took New York!? Where were our forces in New Wales doing?! What was the Imperial Guard doing?!"

"Well we don't know…" The unfortunate soldier admitted, half stunned by the Princess's anger. "But the Imperial Guard and the Black knights managed to fight them off but now we have no idea where they went. They just disappeared."

Cornelia bit her lips. She was worried that something like this would have happened to Nunnally. While Cornelia took some comfort knowing that the attack was repulsed, it only proved that these rebels were much more dangerous. Without Schneizel and the Knights of the Rounds spread out, their forces were under the sole leadership of Zero. She hoped that this Zero had the ability as his predecessor had. She shook her head of the distasteful memory. Even after everything that had happened, Lelouch had been fighting for what he thought was right even if it was against them.

Right now Cornelia was glad to leave Guilford behind with her sister. While she missed his presence, the Princess could not risk losing her sibling and Empress. Cornelia wanted to go back to New Pendragon and lend a hand but she must first take care of these rebellious nobles in the south. She left her hopes in the hands of her knight.

***

**At the same time in the Imperial Palace…**

Nunnally vi Britannia, 100th Empress of Britannia knew it was time she personally show herself in front of her troops and the refugees that had escaped to the capital. While her subordinates and friends including Zero and Kallen protested lest she be attack by a sniper, she was not worried. Nunnally knew that her brother would always be there to protect her. Besides the soldiers must see their leader with their own eyes if they were to have the courage to face the enemy. A king must lead the way or otherwise why would his men follow him. It is _he_ who must always be the first and last to leave the battle.

She briefly saw her brother, leading his Knightmares into a battle. Nunnally felt a pang of pain in her heart remembering the memory. How she wished that everything would be as it was when she and Lelouch were younger back in the Imperial Villa in Aries with sister Euphie. She really wished it was all that simple.

The 16 year old Empress returned to reality when she saw Kallen looking at the Imperial Gardens and mountains surrounding the capital. She had her shoulder length pink-red hair down like when she was back in Ashford and was dressed in the white uniform of the Rounds though without the pink-red cloak.

"We used to live there." The young half Japanese woman turned to see Nunnally coming towards her in her mobile wheelchair. Behind her Zero followed quietly.

"It's beautiful." The Black knight ace replied. "Somehow I feel all my stress going away just by looking at it." It was true. While Japan then Area 11 did contain some beautiful scenery as well, Britannia was beautiful in its own ways.

"When we were young, big brother, me and sister Euphie would just lie on the grass and stare at the skies at night." Nunnally explained to Zero and Kallen.

"Lelouch told me about it before." Zero confirmed.

"We were so happy. Sometimes we would stay up so late until Cornelia finds us and we would run off and hide in the palace."

"I didn't know the Witch of Britannia was a mother-hen." Kallen snickered. Zero chuckled as well under his mask.

"She's really nice at heart. Cornelia's just acts mean because she hates showing her emotions. Elder Sister once said she despises men in general and she keeps on scaring away every suitor chosen for her until Father had finally decided to put her in the military instead."

Kallen laughed, imagining Cornelia chasing a Britannian noble out of a church in a wedding dress.

The trio continued watching the scene in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally it was Suzaku who broke the silence.

"I have been trying to track down that Vincent who appeared at New England. It's not part of the Britannian military." He said the last part slowly.

"So you're saying it could be an irregular?" Nunnally asked the masked knight.

"Possibly. It's hard to see whose side he's really on. With the war on, he could be one of those money grubbing mercenaries."

Kallen grimaced. After a war ends, there would always be people who turned their talents for money. Not that she could truly blame them though since many of them were victims of the fighting. In Japan, there were many who deserted the Black knights and offered their katanas for money and worst some even become terrorists. But that knight who saved them could not have been a mercenary as he had risked his own life to save her, something which no soldier of fortune would do unless it was his objective.

"He did save us and everyone here in the city. Whoever he is, he's seen as a hero by the people." Kallen told them, remembering people asking her and the returning troops of his identity over and over as they cheer them. "They even dubbed him as the 'Scarlet Saviour'." He somehow reminded her of Lelouch when he was acting as Zero.

"That could be exactly what he wants…" Suzaku countered. "He could be a rebel trying to turn the people against us."

"Don't be so quick to judge him, Zero. Let's just wait and see. '_If you cannot find the way, wait, and the way will find you_'." Nunnally recited an old saying. "That's how everything's been happening isn't it?"

"Of course, your Majesty." Suzaku replied formally when an Imperial officer appeared asking for Zero's presence. Unable to back away from duty, the Japanese knight followed the soldier out leaving the two girls alone.

Nunnally smiled encouragingly at the former Knight of the Round when she suddenly remembered what she wanted to talk to Kallen about. "Oh I almost forgot! Milly and Rivalz are in Britannia!"

"Really? I heard she became a free lance reporter?" Kallen asked slightly surprised. She remember their old Student President whose crazy festivals and events would drive Lelouch crazy and her friendly but not very bright friend.

Their two friends from Ashford were in Japan before the Civil War had broken out and Kallen had often seen them when she was staying with her mother. Rivalz had become the President while Kallen became the Vice-President then but when she heard the war, she quickly rejoined the Black knights to go back to Britannia. It brought many painful memories as well as good ones but she managed to hide it like she did during the old days as a resistance fighter.

Nunnally nodded. "I would like to meet them but since Zero is busy I need one of my Knights to be by my side when going out." She said, slyly hinting which knight it would be. "You're not needed in action yet since the Guren is still recharging itself right?" Kallen smiled in appreciation and went down on one knee.

"Yes, your majesty."

"Good." The Empress replied formally. "I have made arrangements for them to stay until we could meet them though it will have to be after meeting with the refugees." Nunnally's innocent eyes hardened. "I want to see the condition our people are in."

"Of course, your highness."

Kallen was amazed at the drastic changed in Nunnally in such a short period of time. The Black knight ace had been by her side since the war began and saw how Nunnally changed from a kind caring ruler into a strong-willed Empress who would do anything to protect her people. The blood that flowed through Lelouch as a capable leader seemed to run through his sister as well.

***

**Imperial Capital of New Pendragon, Southern District**

Anduin Landers was very happy to be finally able to walk out of the base. He and his fellow knights have been stuck in the military base for far too long with only a few actions. It felt like it has been a life time since he was able to walk in the streets. New Pendragon was almost exactly like the old one, though everything was now much more advance. The 21 year old Britannian briefly wonder what his fellow knights were doing.

His father was the Duke of Camberia and had ruled the people with peace and justices, treating them like his own family. Thus Anduin was close to the commoners and did not have the arrogance of his counter-parts. In fact, he was more comfortable with the commoners than amongst the nobility, which led him to join the military as a private rather than an officer. Many of his family members were outrageous with his act but his father approved, which all Anduin cared about.

"_To be a good leader, one must be a good follower."_ was what his father told him and he kept those words to his heart and served in the army reaching the rank of Captain in a short period of time. As captain, he served in the African wars against the E.U. and was soon put into the Royal Special Forces as a knight to fight in Europe which was a relief as he feared of being sent to the Areas to slaughter the "Numbers" as the Britannia put it. Among everything he considered himself to be, being an executioner was not one of them.

When Emperor Lelouch took power from the nobles, his father didn't mind losing his status and power and lived alongside his subjects who eventually elected him back to being their leader again. For that reason alone, Anduin decided not to fight Lelouch despite not liking what he did. He was however, afraid that he would have to choose a side soon.

Fortunately the war ended later and Anduin continued to serve Empress Nunnally. He had met Arthur sometime after the Emperor's death and became fast friends. Anduin wished he was here with him right now. It was quite boring to be alone without his friend.

His thoughts were interrupted by a cell phone ring.

"Landers, here."

_"Anduin. It's Arthur." _Speaking of the devil.

"Hey, Artie! Finally bored sitting in the dark all alone?" Anduin teased.

_"Ha Ha, yeah I'm really bored."_ He replied sarcastically, annoyed for calling him by his nickname. _"Anyway, the Grand Master wants you along with the next mission."_

"Really? Finally some action! When am I to report?"

_"In two days time at noon. He wanted me to inform you earlier so you'll have time to prepare. It's doesn't sound easy. Be at the usual place."_

"Understood. Oh, do you want anything? I'm about to go do a little shopping." The blond soldier halted near a mall.

_"Anduin this is no time for…"_ Before he could finish, a loud crashing sound came from the phone_. "Why you…On second thought, a new bottle of soda would be good. That's all. I'll see you back at base" _He heard Arthur murmuring _"stupid cat…"_ as he hung up.

Anduin smiled as he pocketed his phone. It had been a while since Arthur had returned to life. He seemed to be quite dead since the Battle of New England and Anduin hadn't seen him in days except during dinner. He had to thank Stephanie for bringing her cat later. The knight chuckled to himself as he entered the building.

"Oof!" A blue haired teenager carrying a large bag suddenly bumped into him. The impact caused the bag to fall and emptying its load.

"Oh sorry. I didn't see you." Anduin kneeled to help pick up what look like the groceries.

"It's alright. I couldn't see either with this bag." The boy casually shrugged it off, allowing Anduin to help gather his goods.

"Thanks." The teenager replied as Anduin returned the last item. "I'm kind of new here. I was trying to find exit B but got lost in the building and ended up here. This is my first time in Pendragon."

"Well, not many people are able to come here with the war going on." Anduin said, pleasantly. "If you find yourself lost, just go to the nearest bus stop and check the map. Pendragon may be the Capital but it's still a city after all."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. I'm actually from California but I spent most of my time in Are-I mean Japan."

"Oh, really? How is it like now?" Anduin had never actually been to the island nation but he heard it was an interesting place after the war.

"Well, it's pretty much like here now that the ghettos have merged with the rest of the settlements," said the boy. "There are more Japanese things now. You should try their sushi first if you go there."

"Rivalz! Where are you?" A young female voice called and a young blond woman near his age appeared from the mall.

"Hey, Milly. I got lost again and...Uh…sorry I never got your name." Rivalz smiled weakly.

"Anduin. Anduin Landers."

"Anduin helped me out. I'm Rivalz Cardemonde by the way."

"I'm Milly Ashford. Forgive my friend, he's new here." The blond girl gave him a smile while poking Rivalz in the back.

"Ow! Milly that hurts!" Rivalz complained.

Anduin smiled at what seemed to be an ongoing shuffle. "Where are you heading?"

Rivalz said, "We're heading to the Imper-" but was cut off by Milly who pinched him with the hand holding her bag so the blond man wouldn't see it.

"Just to visit a friend's place. We're just visiting an old friend. She lives near the Imperial Palace." Milly quickly assured him with a smile while half glaring at Rivalz who was flinching from the pain.

"Well, it's in the Royal District, north of here. It used to be St. Darwin Street before the Capital was destroyed so you won't have trouble finding it. Be sure to tell your names and identification to the guards. I've got to go now. Take care!" Anduin waved his farewell to the two teenagers.

---

"What was that for?! That hurts." Rivalz complained after Landers reached out of ear shot, rubbing his arm.

"You idiot! You can't just tell a stranger that we're going to see the Empress!" Milly scolded him. "What would happen if he was an undercover agent?!"

"Good point." He looked around the city. "Then how are we going to see her highness?"

At that Milly looked insulted. "I am an Ashford remember? My family had helped out with the reconstruction. Come on." The former noblewoman ran off leaving a confused Rivalz to follow his old President with their bags.

***

**Later somewhere in the British Isles**

A hooded man clad in black robes sat in a dark corner. The only luminous object in the entire place was a single torch on the wall. The figure sat reading a large tome written in some strange language.

"Brother." A second figure formed from the darkness though it hid any distinguishing features. "Our guest has arrived."

The robed man closed his tome and nodded. "Good. Sent him in."

The figure nodded and retreated back to the shadows.

"Hail, master." A strong young voice called out. A new figure formed in the shadows, this one much taller. He wore the same garments as the others.

"Hail, brother." The man rose from his desk. "How goes your task?"

The new-comer's facial features twisted into a smile. "Perfectly, Primus. With the army under our command, it will only be a matter of time before we find the artefacts again."

"Excellent!" The robed man clapped his hands. His hood fell back slightly revealing a narrow pale face with red glowing eyes. "All is as it should be."

"But Primus, what about those who would oppose us?"

The Primus waved the comment nonchalantly. "They are of no concern to us. The old order is but a relic of the past and the rest of the world only care about themselves." He gave a grin showing rows of purely white teeth. "There is no one who can stop us."

The man nodded then hesitated before asking his next question. "There is still the Scion of Pendragon."

"That old legend again?" The Primus was pouring some wine into a silver goblet. "The line of Uther Pendragon has died centuries ago."

"Yes, Primus. You see the latest assault on the Capital had failed. The Empress is alive."

The elder man shook his head. "Oxbridge and his nobles are losing their touch."

"It's not just that. There was an interloper: a lone knightmare in the colour of blood and sky with the speed and skill of a Round and leadership matching that of the late Emperor. He could be…"

The Primus laughed as if he was hearing a joke. "Hahaha! Come now, Meadus. You think that he would come back grave just like that?"

Meadus looked embarrassed but then straightened. "But still…"

The robed figure took a sip of his wine. "You think he is a threat?"

"The Purists do outnumber the Empress's forces but her troops are fierce and stubborn as those Arthurian knights especially since she had appeared in public around her troops and this knight's sole appearance had already made the loyalists even more determined defend their queen. If more of characters like this one appear, their moral will boast tenfold."

The Primus frowned as he started into empty space. An enemy with a stout heart does not go down easily not without some struggle.

"And without Britannia's resources," His subordinate continued. "It will take another decade to achieve our goal."

"And the day is already nearing."

"Exactly, my lord. With the purists' latest failure, it will only drag the war on. If we do not get the artefacts by on the day itself, we will be forced to wait for another five centuries which…"

"Which we can't afford!" The elder man finished for him. "I know. You are right of course." He drained the rest of his wine down. "Do what you must. This Empress must die. A girl she maybe, she has the strength and will of a queen. She must die if the _six_ are to return…"

***

**As I said earlier. As I'm rushing there may be some errors. Let me know what I did and I'll try to correct them later. Don't really have much to say except Read and Review! Wish me luck. Cheerio! And good luck to those who are having exams as well! Long live Lelouch! Long live Britannia!**


	6. Chapter 5: The Horrors of War

**Hey guys! Just one more paper to go! Thanks guys for the support. That luck really came in handy. So far all the other papers went well, save for Core History paper 1 but then Humanities for this year was hard for everyone so nothing wrong with that. Anyway, Chapter 6 is up. I had to separate this chapter into two so I'll upload the other half later.**

**Two Days later**

**County of Iowa**

"What is the meaning of this?" Lord James Lambert demanded at the soldiers who broke into his room. Clad in grey-black armour and visored helmets, they proved to be an intimidating sight even without their assault rifles.

Now 49 years of age, James Lambert was formerly the 23rd Margrave of his line, now elected as the new Duke of Iowa by the people when the aristocracy was abolished.

When no one answered, Lambert shouted again.

"You there, Sergeant!" He asked the most senior in rank. "I say again. What is the meaning of this intrusion?"

"They're with me." A voice replied, though not from the soldiers. Lambert's brows furrowed. He recognised the voice but couldn't place.

A man dressed in a richly decorated grey uniform came in. He had a neatly trimmed moustache and auburn hair with green eyes. He was followed by a group of similarly uniformed men.

"Robert?"

The Duke could not believe his eyes. His own cousin along with his entire lesion of vessels whom he had served with for years had their weapons trained at him.

"Hello, cousin. It's been a while." Robert smiled though there was no humour behind it.

"What is going on here? This better not be what it looks like?"

"It is exactly what it looks like, James." Robert's smile twisted into a snarl. "You have shamed our family long enough."

"Shame! What are you talking about? I have done nothing but served the Imperial family!"

"Exactly the point." The Duke could only gasp as his cousin continued. "After that demon of an Emperor took our lands and titles, our family had nothing left but to share wealth with these beggars and yet _you_ still serve them! It was bad enough to marry that Eighteen tainting our bloodline. Now you abandoned your own blood for these peasants!"

"It was for the people!" James protested. "Whatever faults he had, Emperor Lelouch did at least one good thing, give freedom to our people. The aristocracy had to be destroyed. We were abusing our power on our people! Power that we were given to _serve_ them!"

"You have mingled with these commoners for far too long. Have you forgotten what our Emperor said? 'Only the strong will survive. People struggle and fight to become even stronger!' It's not too late, cousin. Abandon that queen of a bitch and come back to us and together we'll remake Britannia back to what it was."

But James wasn't listening. He was considering his chances. The soldiers had blocked his every exit in the room, even the secret passage. The windows behind his desk were too far away from his reach now and his pistol was inside his desk. There was no choice.

"That is treason." He said the words slowly making sure every word is heard. "And I'd rather die than betray Britannia."

Robert's smile broke into a frown and turned away. He cast one last glance.

"So be it." The nobleman walked away, leaving his cousin at the mercy of the soldiers. A deafening volley of concentrated fire was heard followed by a scream.

Robert Lambert took no notice of it and opened his com-link.

"Lord Oxbridge. It is done. We have taken Iowa. All Imperial loyalists have been eliminated."

_"Excellent! Your support for our cause is greatly appreciated."_

"Save the pleasantries, old man." Lambert snapped. "I just want my lands back."

_"Don't worry, my friend. You will. And you will get your share as well."_

Robert nodded even though his companion could not see. "Then my House will be apart of your alliance…"

* * *

**Back in New England, Number 12 Refugee Camp  
**

Kallen had always thought of the aftermath of Shinjuku was horrible. Too many people had been killed with countless numbers of innocents wounded and so many became homeless. She had thought the Britannians as demons who only cared about themselves. Until now…

The refugee camps were overcrowded with people. Many had left their homes with little more than their clothes more with almost nothing at all. Kallen smirked. It wasn't surprising.

The battles here were completely different from those back in the Great War. Here weapons were in great numbers. Knightmares were almost unlimited here since Britannia was the first nation to develop them. It takes only a small amount of time to assemble a unit of Sutherland or Vincents. Britannia after all, was rich in resources save for the Sakuradite. It was the main reason why Japan was even attacked. 80% of the extremely dangerous and unstable mineral was in that island nation. Despite Britannia's past crimes, she could feel nothing but pity for these people. When Kallen had cursed all Britannians to suffer the same fate the Japanese had after her mother was sent to jail for 20 years after the refrain addict, she was referring those racist noble-born idiots not these innocents. She felt guilty for even having such thoughts.

A small figure crouched by herself seized the new Knight of Two's attention. A young dark skinned girl with dark blue hair about 7 or 8 years of age sat in miserable silence, staring at nothing. Her clothes were ragged and her face was bruised in several places.

Kneeling by her side, Kallen touched her shoulder. The girl started, turning to glare at her like a wild beast.

"It's alright." Kallen said soothingly, handling the girl her water bottle. She waited until the girl had finished, then added, "I'm from the palace. What is your name?"

After a moment's hesitation, the child answered, "Ca-Calia Moonflower."

"Where is your family?"

"I don't know."

"Are you from Southfield?" Kallen remembered the town she had passed during the Battle of New England which was evacuated.

"No…Lakota."

Kallen tried to hide her concern. Calia was one of the refugees from town the Purists Raiders attacked. Those raiders have been chasing them all this time until an Imperial recon unit had drove them off. From what she had heard from Guilford, the raiders slaughtered many before allowing the rest to escape. The child's family might still live…but then again might not.

"When did you last see them?"

Calia's brown eyes grew huge. "I was with my brother…when the Knightmares came in shooting at everyone. I tried to run home but big brother grabbed me…told me I had to run the other way. He said he will come find me later. So I did." She put her hands to her face, the tears spilling over them. "I should have gone home! I should have gone home! Brother…Mama…"

The tragic tale was not what Kallen wanted to hear. The tale reminded her of her own brother where he had sacrificed himself to save her. Fighting her own tears, Kallen asked again.

"Has anyone taken care of you since your escape?"

"No."

The refugees had been on the run for two days before meeting with the Imperial forces. It was an ethic cleansing a soldier had reported. From Calia's surname of Moonflower, Kallen deduced that she was a Britannian of aborigine origin. Britannians, despite what they claim about how pure their blood was they were technically divided into many ethics, including those of British origin and those of the natives of this land.

She was glad she had not been ignorant of what was happening in the Homelands during the Great War. Though they were treated better than numbers, it was still worst than the Honourary Britannians. But there were many extremist groups and now that the Purists had gained control of the Britannian Army, they had started the genocide. They had been chasing them to no end, determined to slaughter every one of them. Kallen was angry that the Recon unit had destroyed them. No, she wanted them for herself. But right now, she had to consider how to help this girl.

It was remarkable to think Calia had survived on her own even for that period. Many older men, including soldiers had fallen to the side; Britannians were not, in general, up to such strife. While hardly weak, they were very ill-prepared for life outside their cushioned world-a failing only now becoming evident. It would have been an irony if those suffering were the racist bastards then considering what they had done in the Great War.

There were so many in the same situation Calia had suffered, but something about the child especially touched Kallen. Perhaps it was because of the way her brother had died to save his sister. The Knight of Two would make inquiries wherever she could, but she was near-certain that no one in Calia's immediate family had survived and that the girl was now all by herself in the world.

"Come on. You're coming with me." Kallen took the girl by her hands and headed to the nearest counter. Nunnally's Royal Guard and the Black Knights have spread out to do what they could for the people. The young Empress herself was going around the refugees with Guilford. Kallen wondered if Nunnally knew that her presence alone was giving the people the courage to go on. Kallen caught a glimpse of the Empress talking to an elderly man.

"Where are we going?" the child asked. The girl blushed as her stomach suddenly grumbled.

"Well, right now we're going to find you something to eat." Kallen said with a smile. She had seen Hikari, one of her lieutenants at the head of a stall somewhere, giving Japanese food to the people. On the way, Calia kept talking about how nice her brother had been to her and how he had cheered her up dressing up as a clown. Kallen felt a tear flowing from her eyes as she listened to the tale. It reminded her too much of the two men she had loved.

"He must be a good man." She commented as they reached the stall headed by a auburn haired woman.

"Hikari. Something for this girl if you please." She called to her friend and subordinate. And as Hikari turned to get a container, a grey-haired man of European descendent in the Black knight uniform marched to her.

"Madam," The soldier greeted with a thick French accent. "Her Majesty wishes to see you."

"Alright, Jean." Kallen nodded as she turned to Calia. "I will be right back. Stay here with Hikari."

Calia gave Kallen a longing look as she ate her food, not wanting to part her with her just yet.

"Don't worry. I promise." Kallen gave her a confident smile and followed Jean. As she did, Kallen caught a glimpse of a young man with dark hair amongst the refugee. She suddenly stopped to stare at the direction. But the man was gone.

"Mademoiselle?" The Frenchman turned. "Are you alright?"

Kallen look around hoping to see him again but there was no one around matching his description.

Jean misread her expression and his hand reached for his pistol at his side.

"It's nothing." She assured him. "I thought I saw someone I know."

Frenchman nodded. "Understandable, Madam. This way."

Kallen gave one last look before turning back.

And from across the refugee camp, a figure watched the young woman walking away. His violet eyes showed no signs of emotions.

"Sir," A soldier walked up to him. "We need to go now."

Nodding the man cast one last glance and walked away as well.

* * *

**Meanwhile in East Britannia, Virginia**

**Purist Stronghold of Richmond**

It was one of the finest fortifications in Britannia almost rivalling the Capital itself and a base for the assaults on Imperial holdings in the east.

Under orders of Zero the 96th Home Guard to along with 3rd Army with all auxiliaries available laid siege to it. Despite the superior numbers, the Imperial forces were unable to enter the city, having repulsed each time.

"My lord, I regret to report that our latest attack on the rebel lines have been repulsed…" The soldier hesitated with the last part. "…with heavy losses."

"Damn, what are our losses?" General Torion was angry. Damn them! Damn these bloody bastards. "Spit it out, man!" He snapped when the soldier hesitated again.

He coughed. "Seven hundred men and two hundred Knightmares, sir."

"Bloody hell." Torion cursed. "Bloody Bloody hell!" He passed around the room. The screen behind him showed dozens of red circles away from a line of blue disappearing one by one.

"If this keeps going on, those noble bastards will just wait us out until their reinforcements from New York arrive." He gritted his teeth. "By then we'll only have sticks and stones to use against them." His retinue, senior officers and liaisons could do nothing but stare back.

"Perhaps, milord, we can try to use our artillery to blast that shield with concentrated fire?" One of the red caped officers offered. But the General shook his head.

"It'll take too long and we'll need support fire for the attack itself. Even without that blasted shield, the attack on the trenches and wall will still take its toll." Torion put a hand through his blue hair.

"Perhaps there is another way, gentlemen." A smooth voice announced itself. A slim but well built man in his late 30s a cobalt tunic and black pants entered. He wore a dark blue cape over his uniform and had a simple arming sword on his left hip. Strangely though, the man's hair was pale grey despite his youth.

"And who are you?" Torion asked sharply. "I don't recognise your uniform."

"My name is Sir Bernard of Bedford. I am here on my own accord to fight for Queen and Country." The man answered calmly. Many of the officers present scoffed.

"Paramilitary? Like we need anymore of them." One officer muttered to his companion quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Silence." The General glared at them, turning to grey haired man. "What are you suggesting, knight?"

"Well, my lord, my men have found a way to break in the shield though only for a short time, I believe we can use the advantage to fight through the Keep and deactivate both the shield and the missile turrets."

"Tell me about it." Torian considered the tactic. It's risky but it was their only chance. Without their main defences, the rebels could only use their standing forces.

The knight explained. Unknown to the rebels, the nearby town of Westmarch had its water supply connected to the city through the use of pipes during the Great Droughts. When the crisis was over, the pipes were abandoned and the knowledge was lost.

"How many men will you need?" Torian asked.

"About threescore who can fight outside of their Knightmares as well as in them. I have my own unit ready to lead them."

"How can you fight off an entire army with only a few?" One officer demanded.

"Numbers do not win a battle."

"Aye they don't. But since we have very little choice, you may try your gambit, knight. Colonel Nathanial, please give him sixty men of such calibre."

"My lord?" One of the soldiers protested but the General wouldn't let him.

"We have very little time now so we'll need all the help we can get. Now any more questions?" When no one answered, Tirion nodded.

"Right then. I want our forces to arrange themselves into three lines. The 2nd and 12th Battalions will take the first line. The 9th and 16th will take the second. The Black knights' Panzer Division will hold the last with the Grenadier Guard. The rest of the division will follow behind. Artillery will provide cover. While we occupy the buggers, our friend here will lead his troops into Richmond and take out the main keep. Is that clear?"

"Yes, My Lord!" shouted the soldiers, placing their fists on their hearts.

**Well, how is this chapter? I wanted to try to show how horrible the war was especially considering how advanced the weapons the Britannian army wielded. I'll accept any critics just please be polite with it. Yeah and I noticed it too, now that I watch the Star Wars again, the story looks very similar to it. Haha. Never intended it to be that way though. Well read and review! **


	7. Chapter 6: The Demon of Britannia

**Yeah, I agree. A lot of OC characters can be confusing. Well, sorry for confusing you guys, it's just that I need a lot OC characters here as this is Civil War in Britannia and most of the old Britannian Army characters from the anime are either dead or not part of Britannia anymore so that's my reason. Sorry for any trouble. The background of this story is the Civil war so I'm trying my best to describe it out. I want everyone to understand the background and situation of this entire conflict before the main plot comes in. I'll try to add in more of the characters appearing in the anime in the next chapter. This chapter is completely about the battle and...Well…You'll know after you finish reading it. Read & review my friends.**

"Ready?" Anduin Landers asked his old friend as Anduin himself clipped his breastplate on. Arthur Peregrine put on his helmet and nodded.

"Ready." Arthur walked out of his room followed by Anduin. The several of the other knights were already prepared though now they were dressed in the armour of the standard Britannian infantry with the exception of the crimson shoulder guards.

As the two joined them, a taller figure clad in blue arrived.

"Grand Master Bernard." The helmed knight greeted the figure. "The Knights of Afron are at your service."

"Good." Bernard said it with a nod. "You all know what you're supposed to do. I've convinced the Britannian army that we're here to help. Right now, we're just another loyalist noble's Household troops so they're still suspicious of us. Give it your best. Show them what it truly means to be a knight. Make that every painful second of your training count. Do what you must to defend this land. For by Blood and Honour we serve." He placed slapped his gauntlet fist on his chest.

"Blood and Honour." The rest follow the gesture and went out. Arthur was following Anduin out when Sir Bernard grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked quietly.

Arthur hesitated first then looked over his shoulder. "Yes….It's been a year already…"

* * *

**Richmond at 1500 hours**

Night fell upon the city as the cannon and missile fire from the Imperial Armada rained down on its fortifications. While the outer walls suffered from the heavy bombardment, the city's massive Blaze Luminous Shields held them out. The cannonade lasted for about an hour before waves of _Vincent Wards_ and _Gloucester_s of the Royal Panzer Infantry attacked firing bazooka and missiles at the ground forces. The landscape suddenly came to live as anti-air fire of the defenders returned, illuminating the otherwise pitch black scene.

Rebel anti-armour guns and Knightmares countered attacked their own _Ward_s, _Gloucesters_ and _Sutherlands_ supported by other units engaged grim duels with the Imperial forces. Missile and auto-cannon turrets on towers and bunkers turned training on the invaders firing. Great balls of orange and red illuminated the sky each representing the deaths of dozens of men.

From the ground, huge masses of dark figures joined the fray. Steams of yellow and red bolts flew in all directions some hitting their targets. Several struck the city's shield, causing the entire city to glow green. New defensive turrets of cannon and missiles appeared from the ground, firing at the coming horde, peppering the first wave completely destroying three Knightmares as the others scattered their landspinners.

* * *

**Meanwhile in Westfield**

Arthur Peregrine waited in his customised _Vincent_ along with the rest of the knights at Westfield while Anduin talked to the local mayor. He could feel his hands shaking in excitement. They were about 20 feet below ground. In front of them was a large tunnel.

"It's just straight down, Sir Knight." The Mayor explained. "It's only wide enough for one of your Knightmares to fit so you should be careful."

"Our thanks. And your loyalty to the crown is greatly appreciated." Anduin nodded to him.

"No need thanks. Her majesty gave us back our own lives. It is the least we can do." The knight nodded. The Empress had actually won the loyalty of the locals in such a short time. That is good.

Anduin quickly entered his azure framed _Vincent_. "Ready. Let's ride!"

"All Knightmares move out!" Without another word, the knights in individually customised Vincents followed by the Imperial and Afron Wards entered the dark tunnel.

_It's too dark even from here and we're run out of space. _Arthur thought as a loose pipe almost struck him. "All units. Switch on your IFF signals. Use them to navigate here. R1 watch out!" The Ward took a glancing blow though it wasn't bad.

"Lord Peregrine." called one soldier. "Our forces have launched their attack. The battle has begun."

"Then we best hurry." Arthur muttered. The knight looked back at the information provided by the locals. It would take at least about fifteen minutes to get into that fortress. He hoped that by then the Grand Master and the Imperial army had drawn the majority of the rebel forces on the frontlines.

They could hear the explosions and fire even under here. The battle must be going very fierce.

"Damn! How long is this going to take?" Anduin snarled.

Arthur said nothing, focusing on the IFF screen instead. Getting closer. Getting closer.

"Ready your rifles. It's going to be a mad dash." Arthur himself carried only a rifle at the moment. The Prototype of the Energy Disrupter Rifle he had took the last time was only able to used once, being in its initial stage and even if he was able to use it again, it wouldn't be useful here. He thought that it may be useful considering he had to fight such powerful Knightmares. But now, it was just simple warfare: tactics and conventional weapons.

That they could hear the battle above meant that they were already inside Richmond's shields. But they would still need to reach the end of the pipeline. They might as well jump in front of a charging _Gloucester_ if they do it now.

"My lord, the pipeline is getting wider!" exclaimed a soldier.

"That's because we're no longer in the pipeline." Anduin explained. "It's an old tunnel. There is a cross-road in front. Our stop should be straight ahead."

Just as they reached the cross-way, Arthur noticed that there were two other paths.

"Captain, where does that lead?" He asked one of the local Imperial officers he brought, thinking their knowledge of the land may be useful.

"It's an old sewerage, my lord. They closed it down like the pipelines years ago when they introduced a new one."

"Is it in any use?" Arthur asked.

"Not at all."

"Good. Sterling! Take your unit inside and stop after 500 metres. Wait for further orders."

"What? Arthur, what are you doing?" Anduin asked, surprised.

"Trust me." A loud rumbling told him that there were rebel units above them.

"We're close."

"Now!" Arthur charged forward in full gear firing as he moved. The blast door exploded from the volley and the silver-red Knightmare burst out on the unsuspecting soldiers.

"Now strike before they can recover!" Arthur sprayed a wide arc of sabot rounds while using one of his slash harkens to take down a rebel Vincent. The razor sharp weapon struck the enemy Knightmare square in the chest, killing the pilot as well.

Several enemy Knightmares recovered and were turning on them when Arthur's own unit joined him and firing their rifles at the enemy.

"Harry, cover our backs!" Arthur ordered one of his subofficers as the entire group arrived. "The rest of you with me! We need to shut down or destroy those generators fast!"

As Harry's unit took up defensive positions on one side, the others turned to the other direction. They charged through the roads of the city, meeting stiff resistance almost immediately. Rebel _Ward_s and _Sutherlands_ fired volleys of sabot rounds at the intruders.

Arthur continued firing with one hand while using the other to charge his Needle Blazer. One _Vincent_ launched his Slash Harkens at the knight. Arthur dodged one harken but the second one managed to knock out his rifle. Despite it, he charged straight towards it, using the _Vincent_'s superior speed to dodge the shots. As he closed it, Arthur used his charged needle blazer like an elbow strike and smashed into the chest of the Vincent Ward. The blue energy that was charging made it look so daunting that the rebel pilot could do nothing but stared as his Knightmare's chest and head were blasted into dust.

As he recovered from his attack, about a dozen _Sutherlands_ and _Gloucesters_ appeared in front of them.

"Move!" Arthur shouted to his unit members. "P1, B2 circle around those buggers. P4. P5 provide covering fire!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Two violet _Vincent Wards_ with blood red shoulder-plates charged pass Arthur, with their MVS double-bladed lances drawn.

"Arthur, watch your back!" Anduin shouted through his radio. A gold and blue _Vincent_ appeared a moment later, jumping over behind Arthur, driving a spinning kick at an unseen _Gloucester_. The kick smashed straight into Knightmare's head, knocking it down hard on the floor. Arthur's rescuer then brought its rifle up and fired a burst at a second Gloucester with trained lance. It deflected its shots with its polearm, the sabot rounds bouncing harmlessly off its golden blade. But Anduin was one of the most skilled sharpshooters in his unit and continued his barrage and this time, the rounds shot pass the lance, landing on the purple Knightmare's chest-plate.

"Anduin! Thanks. Now come on!" He drew one of his MVS blades as well and leapt into the fray.

* * *

Duke Morbis 'Morbid' Weildfield had been the Viceroy of Area 16 back during the war. His plan was perfect. Morbid had personally devised the entire strategy by himself. The shields, the cannons, the trenches…everything! It was another masterpiece he made and the first in along time since fighting those terrorists in Area 16. He had never lost a single battle. He had never made a single flaw in his campaign and no soldier under him would dare make one. If they did they knew what would happen. He wasn't called 'Morbid' for any reason.

Which was why the son of a bitch that allowed those Imperial scum into his fortifications would wish he had never lived.

"Third Battalion moved in to intercept those bastards." He ordered his subordinates.

* * *

"Agrah!" A rebel Knightmare pilot screamed as a crimson blade sliced through his Knightmare chest plate…and through his _own_ chest.

Arthur drew back his weapon and fired a slash harken at a charging _Sutherland_ with a silver lance. The rebel used his weapon to block it and lowered it down as it advanced in full speed. Arthur dove forward to meet it head on, his MVS sword at the ready. The knight swung his blade first and parried the lance thrust so hard that the viroblade sliced through the lance. Pulling his sword back to chest level, Arthur drove the weapon into the _Sutherland_'s chest. At that the speed, the pilot didn't even had time to eject.

He caught a glance of Anduin as his fellow knight took down a _Gloucester_ and two _Sutherlands_ in single shots.

"Anduin, we need to be quick. The buggers probably sent a regiment on us by now. Harry, draw them of from here and lead them over to the pipeline."

"Sir?" Harry asked, puzzled. On the radio one of their Vincent pilots screamed as a _Gloucester_'s lance pierced through his Knightmare's chest.

"Just do it. I'll explain later."

"Yes, Sir Arthur." The knight hesitated for a moment then saluted and pulled his green and white _Vincent_ around firing. His own unit of 15 _Ward_s followed him.

Sir Henry 'Harry' Dunford was a fine knight and a good leader. He should be able to hold them.

Arthur turned back to the fray, dodging a sword swing from a _Gloucester_ then punching it in the face. He then twisted behind the falling _Gloucester_ and thrust his MVS blade into from behind by the cockpit. He glanced behind seeing a large heavily guarded compound with high walls.

As he did, one section of the wall opened up and about half a dozen _Wards_ suddenly poured out, their guns blazing.

"Anduin!" Arthur shouted. "I need to get to their Keep!"

"What? I thought we were here to destroy the generators?" He asked as he took cover from a volley.

"Yes but I need to get there first. It's the fastest way to shut it down!" He used his sword to point at the massive building.

"But-"

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course but…"

"Then hurry!" Without another word, Arthur charged forward drawing his other MVS sword at the same time.

"Arthur, wait! Crazy idiot…" Anduin gritted his teeth and followed. The blue and gold _Vincent_ turned around and continued providing covering firing for his friend.

"All units. Follow me!"

Another of their _Wards_ who had been unlucky enough to run into a volley fell with a hundred bullet holes into the chest and cockpit. A Rebel Ward charged at him with his MVS sword. Anduin growled as his rifle ran out of ammunition. Cursing, the blond knight seized the _Ward_'s hand before he could complete the swing and used his other needle blazer to finish it off.

By the time he advanced, Arthur was already locking his swords into double blade mode and was charging into a large group of rebel _Vincent Wards_ led by two green and gold _Vincent_ Commander Models. He wielded them with such skill and accuracy that Anduin could hardly believe he was the same knight he had known for the entire year. Whenever he slashed, the red and silver Knightmare left pieces of broken Knightmares along with what was left of their unfortunate pilots. It was shocking if not horrifying to see him fighting so.

Arthur used one blade to block a sword swing then used its other end to slice through the torso of his opponent. Just as he finished his bloody harvest, he signalled to Anduin.

"The way is clear! Hurry we need to get in!" Arthur was already making his way out of the cockpit a pistol in one hand. At his side was ruby hinted longsword sheathed in a gold framed violet scabbard.

Before Anduin could bite a question, the other knight had already jumped down and was charging into the rebel command centre.

"Hurry. Dismount!" Anduin jumped down from his Knightmare, hoisting his rifle and followed Arthur with the rest of their men behind him.

"Move!" Arthur shouted, shooting at some of the guards that appeared at the entrance. They met minimal resistance as they storm their way through, their combat boots eating up the distance quickly. However, occasional soldiers in the old Britannian blue uniforms would appear at every corner. They were entering a long of hallway leading to an elevator when a volley of lead rained down on them.

"Watch it!" Arthur and Anduin with a squad rolled to one side while the second and third rolled to the other. Three soldiers were caught in the stream bullets their fall slowed by the continuous impact of the rounds against their helmet and shattered armour.

"Buggers, got us this time!" Anduin muttered. Arthur nodded in agreement. The rebel soldiers had two sets of heavy machine guns trained on their position around a bunch of sandbags. Behind them were about a dozen more men with rifles.

Anduin was wondering how they were going to get pass them when Arthur drew something from his belt and hurled what looks like a silver pearl at the rebel position.

The continuous barrage caught the small object and for an explosive of its size, the impact was tremendous as it rocked all the soldiers down. Smoke blanketed the entire position.

"Now!"

Arthur bellowed a charge and head out first firing his pistol. Anduin followed, careful not to shoot wildly lest he hit his friend who suddenly jumped over the barricade. As the smoke started to fade away, he was rewarded with the privilege to watch Arthur fight.

It was blood poetry, a war dance. The knight charged and shouldered into one soldier, unsheathing his weapon at the same time, slashing the man as the blade was being drawn out. The flashing blade cut through his breastplate and split his chest, causing the blood to spray on Arthur's black-grey armour. One of the soldiers swung his rifle using it like a club. Arthur easily ducked the great stroke, twisting he kneeled pulling his sword arm back and thrust hard. His aim was true and the sword pierced through the man's throat. Pulling the blade out, the knight quickly twisted his weapon in a reverse hold and thrust back into the chest of another behind him without even looking. He would twist again, dodge any blows and retaliate, continuing his attacks with lightning fast reflexes. Most of the rebels however were too stunned to even do anything though.

One soldier however was able to get his rifle ready and fired but the knight suddenly jumped to one side and then to the other then to another in a zig-zag pattern until the distance between them covered. The soldier cried out as the knight knocked his firearm with the sword causing the gun's automatic shots to rain down on the soldier's own fellows. As the gun fell out of his hand, Arthur slashed, the blade slicing through his shoulder the armour offering no resistance at all.

Arthur then twisted and buried his blade into the head of another soldier who tried to knife him, the sword cut through the helmet as if air, blood spraying on both of them.

Anduin then heard the sound of a gun cocked and turned to see a blue coated officer standing with his pistol pointing at Arthur. Knowing that he needed to act fast, Anduin brought his gun up but didn't fire as Arthur suddenly lunged on the man. How did he recover so fast?

The officer however was too stunned to fire as he watched the blood-soaked figure in black armour with a bloodied sword charging at him unable to offer any resistance. His eyes were filled with fear, wishing he hadn't drawn his gun out and surrender. Arthur saved the man from any humiliation and ran the soldier through, sword point piercing through his back.

Anduin watched aghast as Arthur idly pulled his sword out. He shivered as his fellow knight wiped the blood on his sword. Everything he saw was just too much for him to absorb.

"Anduin…" He muttered quietly already turning forward. "Take the left corridor and silence their artillery. I'll take control of their leader."

"But…" Anduin shook his head to clear his head of the carnage he had witnessed. "But he'll have an entire company guarding him. There are bound to be more troops here."

"Don't worry. I'll deal with them." Without another word, Arthur Peregrine sheathed his sword and marched into the elevator trusting his subordinate to follow his orders.

* * *

"My lord…. a group of Imperials…they…they broke through into our compound." One of his officers said, his face pale white.

"What? How did they…never mind! Seal all the inner doors. Get the guards!"

"My lord, they damaged our controls. We'll need to seal the doors manually."

"Then do it! If any idiot fails, I'll have his head standing on my door pouch! And where is that battalion?" Morbid shouted. His men obeyed quickly their fear of their leader was stronger than their fear of what was going to happen.

"They're still engaging the enemy Knightmares which got in, my lord." The officer explained, still pale.

"Damn. Pull some of our reserves from the front and bring then here!"

* * *

Lieutenant Kenneth Sterling wondered why his commander ordered him to go through this tunnel and stop in their position. There was nothing here. And he could see on his mini-map that they were taking heavy losses and could even hear the sounds of gunfire and explosion above.

Now he and his men were in this stinking sewer about several decades old. What were they supposed to do now? He could here some of his comrades shouting as their Knightmares were being torn apart.

As if an answer to his thoughts, his radio suddenly picked up at an unknown frequency.

"Lieutenant, stop after you reach about thirty metres ahead from your position. Now use your chaos mines and blow up the ceiling." The voiced sounded like Sir Peregrine's.

Sterling blinked. How did he know where they were? He wanted to argue but the disappearance of several of their own Knightmares on the urged him to act.

Sterling threw his mine. Its shrapnel hit the pillars hard, the bullets peppering the concrete walls. After a few seconds, the entire ceiling collapsed down in front of them. To their surprise, the debris landed just right before them and along with them was an entire squadron of rebel Knightmares all broken by the fall. Any survivors were quickly cut down by them.

"Now get outside using your slash harkens and support Dunford's unit."

Before Sterling could say another word, Peregrine was gone.

* * *

**Outside the Keep**

Harry Dunford did his best to hold them. He was a soldier, born and bred as one. He can follow orders precisely as it was told and could improvise whenever necessary. But fighting against a _full_ battalion with a handful of Knightmares pushed the soldier to his limits.

He threw a chaos mine over the corridor, the shrapnel from the mine rained down on the unsuspecting _Sutherlands_ tearing them to pieces. Henry then used his rifle to spray a wide arc scattering the survivors.

They had decimated five platoons already but they just keep coming. Harry was grateful to Lord Peregrine for advising on moving into this position. He was right for it was too narrow for the entire battalion from entering, at least not without hitting each other. And that gave them the advantage.

It was just like the Battle of Crecy centuries ago when the French and Imperial knights made the same mistake he thought. And they like the English longbowmen back then they were cutting the buggers down with their arrows while the noble-born bastards tried to restore order in that tight corridor.

But like at Agincourt, they were _badly_ outnumbered and their ammunition would not last forever. A glitter of silver and gold in the distance told him of the advancing enemy. He just hoped that he and his men could fight as well as those English knights and men-at-arms at Agincourt in close quarters. Two lines of lancers were moving at them several were carrying their rifles. The first one was made up of _Gloucesters_ and the second of _Sutherlands_. Harry gritted his teeth as he finished his last round, drawing his MVS swords; he switched them into lance mode, preparing for the upcoming fight.

What happened next however made even the veteran soldier gap in surprise.

"What the..." Dunford watched in surprise as the last second line of charging _Sutherlands_ suddenly collapsed into the ground.

"Lord Dunford!" A familiar voice called him as a Ward with crimson plates appeared behind the rebel lines firing into the _Gloucesters_ from behind. Caught between the crossfire, the violet dark Knightmares shattered into pieces. More _Wards_ appeared and they added their fire power to help the outgunned group.

"Lieutenant! How-?"

"I'm not sure either, sir, Lord Peregrine said to blow up the ceiling underground and this is what happened." The soldier explained.

"How did he know when to do that? I thought he's in-"

"Rebel reinforcements!" A soldier shouted.

Just as Henry Dunford and Sterling were turning to meet the newcomers, another frequency entered their machines.

"B2. Fire your Harkens at 30 degrees to your right."

"Sir Arthur? But the rebels are-"

"Just do it!" The knight insisted and Harry obeyed along with the rest of his surviving squad. The wire guided projectiles struck true hitting a nearby building's column. The column started to crack though slowly.

"Now pull back, drive 220 degrees." They obeyed again and to their surprise, the entire building shifted and collapsed…collapsed on top of an entire company of rebel Knightmares that they didn't even noticed!

"Bloody hell…did we just do that?" A soldier muttered.

The debris had not only crushed the rebels but formed a natural barricade for them.

"By the Gods! How did he know?" Sterling said out loud.

Harry didn't know but he knew better than to ask. Seeing the advancing enemy, all they can do is to stand and fight.

* * *

A pair of purist soldiers rushed to close the blast doors of the various entrances to their commander's tower when one of them stiffen and fell as a bullet struck his chest. His companion raised his rifle but a second shot struck his head. Both fell, a blood pool formed under their bodies.

An armoured figure raced through the doors, smoke curled from the barrel of the pistol in his hand. Three more soldiers barred his way as he entered further.

"What the hel-" The lead soldier was cut off by as a bullet struck his throat. His companions follow suit, clutching their bloody wounds.

"He's over here!" Another one of the armoured soldiers appear firing his rifle at the intruder. Arthur gritted his teeth as one bullet grazed his shoulder guard. He rolled away to a nearby corner as bullets flew around him, peppering the walls. He tried to get a better visual at his opponent but the soldier kept him completely pinned with his automatic fire.

Thinking quickly Arthur drew his sword and used to the reflection on the blade to see his opponent. Calculating carefully, he fired his pistol against a corner reflecting the soldier. The bullet bounced off the breastplate but succeeded in startling the soldier. The knight took the advantage to get out of his position and charge at the soldier shooting his unprotected throat.

Suddenly a heavy force struck him on the head followed by a gun shot. The impact knocked him off balance, collapsing on the metal floor hard. Pain streaked through his legs and his head felt a regiment of Knightmares pounding on him.

"Surrender Imperial scum!" A blue-coated officer shouted. "You are trapped." From the heavy sound of footsteps, Arthur deduced that he had an entire squad with him.

"Right. King takes Bishop." The rebel soldiers startled and look at him as if he was mad.

"What the-?"The officer was cut off when he saw the small round object near his leg. Before he can mutter another word, it exploded, knocking him and his men down.

Arthur casually got up and threw away the useless pin of the grenade he had used. He reached for damage on his helmet. There was a large crack on it. Seeing it was now useless, he took it off and threw it aside and continued his trek to the office.

* * *

"My lord, No.2 Blast doors are still open!"

"Sir, there is no response from Captain Marcus' unit!"

"My lord, the 3rd Company has been wiped out!"

There were only a few times Morbid would lose his calm in battle and this was it. On and on, the reports came in as if the entire army was wiped out in a single second. He was starting to pull his beard, bugger what the book say about looks. This was insane!

"Sir, we lost transmission with our 9th Battery!"

A junior officer suddenly barged into the room.

"Sir, there is something going on the 7th level."

"That close! Then go find out! You! You! Go! Go and kill those bastards!" Morbid shouted at his officers. They quickly saluted and rush out their pistols at the ready.

"What the hell is going on!" He shouted out.

"My lord! It's the-agrah!" One of them screamed and everything went quiet after that.

"Vend! Vend? Pallinol! What the bloody hell is going on?"

"My lord, we're doomed! There is a dem-!" The transmission was cut off again before he can finish his sentence.

Morbid could hear some gun shots, followed by screams of without a doubt of fear and pain. Shivering, the nobleman drew out his pistol. What in the name of the Gods is going on? They sound like as if a demon had appeared. Biting back the growing fear in his chest, Morbid slowly walked out and stared at the bodies of his subordinates lie on the floor dead, blood flowing from their wounds. Their eyes were still open, showing how fast they were killed. He searched for his personal guard but found their bodies not far from his position.

He heard something shift behind him and turned firing at the direction only to find himself shooting at nothing. Then something moved from the entrance again. Morbid turned again shooting a complete burst, fear finally overwhelming the feared Britannian commander.

"So this is the real Morbis 'Morbid' Weildfield: the commander known for his torture devices and the massacre of Baghdad is nothing but a simple bully?" A voice mocked.

"Where are you?" Morbid screamed his mind was going wild now.

But the voice only laughed, a cruel and cold laugh mixed with bitter amusement. "The man, who would hide in his little room of luxury, ordering the deaths of thousands of innocents, _dares_ demand where I am?"

"Bastard! Bastard! Show yourself!" Shooting wildly, until the gun hit a click. Hysteria bubbled up inside him.

"Haven't you heard of this phrase, your lordship? _The only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed__?_"

Morbid's eyes widened as he recognised those words. It was during the war when he watched the report from Area 11. That…that Zero character!

"COME OUT! BASTARD!"

"Very well." His voice was calm compared to the near hysterical of the nobleman.

Morbid felt a presence behind him and turned…and found himself staring at the face out of a nightmare. The figure gave him an evil grin.

"You're…you're the dead Emp-"

"Checkmate."

"Agrah!" Even in his state of madness, Morbid found the voice in his throat to scream as a blade pierced through his black heart.

**Phew! This is the longest chapter I've done yet. Well I hope this chapter answers some of your questions. If there's anything that stills confuses you, just sent it along your review. Besides, I'm the one writing it, how will I know what is seen from someone else's point of view unless you guys tell me. And I want to thank _Trayus, _****_WWII Historian, _****_Shaitan Elnefi, AutumnxLovex, Xangelic-demonicX, aznblackhowling, Enosa, Moonlitxangel, Angelic soldat, survivor18, undead3, bob115, Grimdivide, Tekkai, Wendy, random reviewer, and everyone else for reading this story. I really appreciate it._  
**


	8. Chapter 7: A Mystery and an Old Reunion

**Meanwhile outside of Richmond**

**1645 hours**

"Hold the line!" Mellenia Evergreen shouted as the ground Imperial Knightmares started to falter under the savage rebel onslaught. Missiles, cannon and haldron beams rained down on them even as they struggle to battle the entrenched rebel Knightmares and tanks. Infantrymen with anti-armour rocket-launchers constantly fired upon them every time they passed a forested area near the trenches and walls.

The Knight of Nine twisted her _Vincent_ around to dodge a sword swing from a rebel _Ward_. Before the rebel can recover, Mellenia slashed her viroblade lance in a broad swing, cutting the enemy Knightmare neatly in half.

As head of the army's vanguard, Mellenia's forces took the heaviest casualties amongst the first three waves. Not that the second wave and the Black Knights didn't suffer little losses. Although the Franco-German _Panzer-Hummels_ managed to be able to withstand much of the rebel cannon fire with little difficulty, they were almost defenceless against close combat, which unfortunately was where Britannian Knightmares were best at. Units of _Sutherlands_ and _Gloucesters_ had been preoccupied to defend the heavy Knightmares that they were unable to perform their own attacks yet despite the heavy fire from the Britannian Armada and the _Hummels_, the city's Blaze Luminous Shields held on, and in return the city's defenders throw missile, cannon and haldron blasts back at them which the Imperials had no shield against.

"General Torion! We're taking heavy causalities! We can't hold them much longer!" She reported back to the army commander.

"Stand fast! Our best men are in that fort trying to deactivate the shield. Give them more time!"

_If this keeps up, there won't be an army left. _The Knight of the Round though furiously as she desperately struggled against two rebel _Gloucesters_. She blocked a sword swing with one blade and lance thrust with another. Using the _Vincent_'s superior strength, she knocked both weapons from their wielders and decapitated both of them with a single swing.

The debris of the destroyed Knightmares fell down on the city's shields and to Mellenia's surprise they fell _through_ the shields and landed on a pair of rebel tanks destroying them in the explosion as well.

"The shield…The shield has been deactivated!" She shouted through all channels. "All units! Now attack the City!" She didn't know if their men succeeded or even if the whole thing was a trap but she wasn't going to let go of this opportunity to lay waste on these treasonous bastards.

Grinning, Mellenia at the head of the entire Imperial Airborne forces charged down firing down on the rebel forces and from the looks of it they seemed to be even more surprised then their enemies and fell prey to the vengeful Imperial forces. To make things more fortunate if not shocking, the city's automatic defences stopped firing at the Imperial army and instead they turned around towards the city and fired on their own forces.

Here and there rebel soldiers and their Knightmares were slaughtered. Imperial _Gloucesters_ and _Sutherlands_ with their lances charged down, skewering Knightmares and crushing infantrymen as they storm the city. Most of the rebels surrendered seeing their mighty defences fallen. Many did however fought back and Mellenia suspected they were the nobles, unwilling to face justice. Whatever the reason was, it was the only thing that kept them from routing or surrendering.

"My lady!" Her guard captain said. "We've received word that our forces have taken the Keep from the inside."

"Took them long enough. Ask them to send a map of the city with the rebel positions."

"Yes, Madam."

Mellenia then turned her fury on the rebel bastards that dared to defy her highness.

* * *

**Richmond Keep, Virginia**

Anduin charged forward firing into the flank of a pinned down rebel squad. The first shots took down three of them, the bullets shredding though their armour and bodies. He lunged at the rest, smashing the rifle butt into one soldier's chest then swung at another's head.

As he struggled against his recent foe from somewhere, Anduin heard the sounds of battle getting louder. Anduin suppressed a grin as he slammed the edge of his rifle butt against the soldier face, spider-webbing his visor. Looks like the whole damned thing actually worked.

Ducking down behind a damaged fountain, Anduin reached for another cartridge. Bullets peppering at the marbled bricks, the blond knight peered at the rebel position.

A dozen or so men in various uniforms weapons drawn, fired at their forces with the aid of the automatic machine guns from the walls and grounds. He grimaced. This was going to trouble.

The heavy weapons fired volleys of 40 Calibre rounds at their positions, peppering the surrounding furniture, props as well as men. One of the sergeants was caught in the streams of lead as he tried to displace.

"Take cover!" Anduin snapped. His eye brows burrowed as he shifted himself from his cover to get a better shot at the automatic defences as well as the live targets. A grenade might help but with those guns firing not even a fly could survive in the open. He wished desperately for a mini-howitzer to fire at the bastards.

Then suddenly the automatic cannons stopped...just stopped firing, catching everyone in the room, even the rebels themselves by surprise.

Not about to let go of this chance, Anduin immediately reached for a grenade and tossed it to the rebels. It ended with a satisfying bang and the screams of the rebel soldiers raining debris and what was left of them around.

"Commander Landers," An Imperial soldier reported. "This entire floor is secured."

"Good job, Lieutenant. Now, take your men and start clearing out the other areas here. Sent a message to the General that we're in control of the Keep."

"Yes, my lord." The officer saluted and turned, already speaking through his comlink.

"Everyone else," He turned to the rest of the men. "We'll clear this compound and meet up at the entrance."

* * *

"P6, throw a grenade at the Entrance B. K2, P8, fire twenty degrees to your right."

"R2, pull back."

Arthur turned to the various video screens of the entire Keep. He scanned through each situation of his men and the rebel units giving different orders as they struggled through the chaotic battlefield.

Now that the Imperial army had managed to get in, the rebels were trapped between them and Arthur's own forces."

"Harry, execute Formation Alpha. Sterling, fire 30 degrees to your right. B1, destroy the third pillar to your right. Once you're done, everyone move to Sector 5."

Only when the entire battlefield in their position was cleared of enemy troops, Arthur finally paused to take a deep breath. It was finally over. He was exhausted and he idly drew the sword buried in the chest of the dead nobleman.

As he did, Arthur unintentionally took a glance at one monitor screen. From his thick, glossy black hair which was plastered to his head with blood and sweat, he saw a young man in late teenage staring back at him with deep arresting violet eyes, with arched brows giving him a rather mordant look. He was of slim, almost lanky built. However it wasn't the hair nor the eyes that so unsettled others.

It was his face.

Not that he was unhandsome. On the contrary, his face was an image which every girl would dream as their future husband, with a strong clean jaw and angular features, it was almost like as if it was carved by angels.

No. It was more of because _who_ he looked like. One he had sworn his loyalty to so long ago. One who had saved his life. One who deserved a much better fate than he had gotten.

The sound of explosions, gunfire, transmissions filled the room through the microphones in the awkward silence. They spoke of many things: reports, warnings, damages, and death…mostly death. Frowning, the raven-haired knight turned away unable to look at the face any longer.

"It was _I_ who should have taken that sword." He muttered.

Arthur raised his sword in attempt to wipe the remaining blood on the blade…and suddenly turned the blade around, thrusting it into the shadows behind him, violet eyes narrowing dangerously.

The crimson keen edge came within an inch of a figure unseen in those shadows until now. But it was not an enemy but a very familiar face that greeted him.

"Bloody hell, Arthur. It's me." Anduin exclaimed, surprised by his reaction.

With a deep sigh, Arthur lowered his weapon. "Don't startle me like that." He said the words slowly. "Or you'll end up with a cold steel in your gut."

Anduin gave a short glance at the dead corpse near leaning against the wall and smirked. "Yeah, I can see that." He commented warily. "Anyway, we've taken the Keep. Most of the rebels have either been killed or captured."

"That's good. Our forces have pulled back and the Imperial army now has the situation in hand."

"So have we got what we came here to get?" Anduin asked, inspecting his assault rifle

"Yes. It's all here." He pulled out a small silvery device from his pouch. "Inform the Grand Master that we're done." With that the raven-haired knight lifted his sword, put the point in the scabbard hanging on his left hip and drove it home.

"You're wounded." Anduin said quietly causing Arthur to look up again. His friend pointed to his temple and the knight reached a gloved hand over it and felt a tinkle of warm blood flowing down from his temple. Strangely he did not feel any pain until he touched the wound.

"It's nothing." Arthur declared. "Have Harry take the lead in speaking on our involvement to the Imperial commanders. We are just part of Benford's Household Guard fighting for our Queen are we not? Now give me your helmet."

"Of course." Anduin nodded understanding the reason why he always wear it and handed him the headgear. He'll confront him with this later. Right now, Arthur looked more like a demon than a man.

* * *

**Meanwhile back in New Pendragon**

"Your Highness, are you sure that you want to meet with them now?" Zero asked the Britannian Empress.

"Of course. From all this stress, I would like to see them while they're still here."

"But your highness…" The masked knight trailed off and glanced at Kallen for help who just shook her head.

"I know. They have no memory of me. Am I not correct?" The young Empress looked up at them. Both Zero and Kallen looked at each other in surprise.

"I suspected as much," Nunnally continued, moving down the corridor in her hover chair. "When I learnt big brother's memory was rewritten by Father I knew that everyone else's memories in Ashford would be rewritten as well.

"But I still would like to see familiar faces again. Both Rivalz and Milly have done a lot for us. Milly's family have done a lot for us when we were young."

"I heard the Ashford Foundation is now one of the largest supporters to the crown outside of Britannia." Kallen asked.

"Yes." Zero nodded. "They contributed the largest sum in rebuilding New Pendragon."

"Oh yes. How is Nina?" Nunnally said suddenly.

"She's doing well." Suzaku replied. "Lloyd has taken her under her wing at the _Camelot_. They're working on new counter measures against this rebel attack."

The trio entered a large decorated room where their two expected guests were waiting across a table. They rose from their seats at once and bowed. Zero nodded to them and went back outside to give them their privacy.

"Please, rise. I feel rather uncomfortable at this."

"We are honoured, Your Highness." Milly Ashford said coolly while Rivalz who could still hardly believe that they were meeting the monarch who brought peace back just nodded.

"I know this is a sudden request but I would like to know my…my brother's friends when he was back at school."

They seemed to be surprised first but then nodded understandingly.

"Tell me how was he like. And please, right here and now. I'm just Nunnally." Nunnally asked them and they explained about how Lelouch was back then to her with Rivalz in the lead. As Rivalz was explaining about one event, Milly took the chance to talk to Kallen.

"It is good to see you again, Kallen." The Knight of Two smiled at her older companion.

"You too Milly. How have you been doing?" She asked the former Student Council President.

"I'm doing great." She said, cheerfully. "After I went for that broadcast in Africa, I decided that I wanted to see the world and...well...look for the truth." She said the last part quietly and trailed off.

"I see." Kallen nodded understandingly. Of course Milly would be suspicious of Lelouch's death. Part of her wanted to tell Milly the truth, but she thought better of it. Kallen could still not risk it. Perhaps it would be better if Milly would find out the truth by herself.

"How about yourself Kallen? How do you find the Homelands compared to Japan?"

Kallen shrugged. "It's a bit cold for my taste. And the formality they use is driving me nuts. But the clothing is far worst. For ball I have to wear this. For the meeting, I have to wear that. For the battle I have to wear this...Ugrah...it's just so frustrating." She went on ranting not with a little bit of frustration. Milly laughed more amused by the way her companion was talking than the words.

"You know it is far more refreshing to see the real you. I always wonder why you choose a persona completely opposite of your real self."

Kallen chuckled. "Sometimes I wonder that myself. There were a lot of things I wanted to do but couldn't because of that cover." She sighed causing Milly to laugh more.

They talked about a lot of things. Rivalz and Milly though with some coaxing had finally felt comfortable with the Empress's presence. They were telling her about what school was like, not knowing that Nunnally knew everything about Ashford.

They spent the rest of the time talking about her travels, the situation of the world and what was happening in Japan. Kallen learnt that Rivalz now is working at Tamaki's bistro. Apparently they hit off when they met during Ohgi's Wedding. It was a great memory, it was the first time everyone she knew who had been serving on the front fighting grim bloody battles all happy enjoying themselves. Todoh had finally noticed Chiba's feelings for him or at least that's what she thought seeing the harden samurai blushing suddenly when he saw his fellow Holy Swords member in the traditional Japanese attire. It was also the first time she got to know Princess Cornelia where she had gotten close. There were games devised by none other than Milly Ashford and Kallen could remember the faces of the veteran military commanders when they were forced to put up with the former Student Council President. Even Tianzi came along with Hong Gu and Zhou Xianglin. Xingke couldn't make it since he was sent to Britannia for a treatment for his diseases at that time and Nunnally was still discussing with the Imperial Senate on political changes. Yet despite their absence, it was time where everyone could forget old grudges and move on with their lives…Just like what Lelouch had planned.

"Pardon me, your highness we have received a military report..." An officer announced.

"I'll go first, Your Highness," Kallen offered when she saw some hesitation in Nunnally's eyes. She of course wanted to spend sometime with her old friends even if they don't remember her. Besides Nunnally had never seen them before either so this was probably a good time to be re-_acquainted_. "And handle things until you're done. After all, it is not an emergency." The Empress first seemed to object but then nodded.

"Thank you, Kallen." She said.

"I'll see you guys later, ok?"

"Sure Kallen. Take care of yourself." Milly smiled.

"And don't do anything crazy like you did in school!" Rivalz added causing Kallen to smirk as she left.

The Britannian officer led her to the War Room which was crowded with officers in various uniforms including the Black knights. When Britannia entered the UFN, its military was so large that only a few were able to be fully subjected into the Black Knight Military. Unfortunately, most of the military was taken in by the Purist forces by unknown means. The only proper military left under Imperial Britannia was the Household forces. While in the course of the war the Imperial ranks swelled again, it was still by far outnumbered by the much more experienced Britannian Army.

Because of this, the UFN agreed to send a military expedition to New Britannia as well as to keep the Imperial Guard as the only non-Black Knight military in the world. The Euro Universe itself still existed though only in name. Many of its nations joined the UFN but several powerful nations still remained independent either because they cut of all connections from the world or were involved in civil wars such as Burma.

Kallen found Zero talking to a high-ranking Britannian officer in a similar maroon uniform she saw in Cornelia's Royal Guard.

Nodding her thanks to her escort, the Knight of Two made her way through the soldiers to Zero. The masked knight saw her coming and moved to meet her.

"Kallen. I'm glad you're here. We found him."

"Who?"

"Our Red Knight."

Kallen's eyes lit up at the mention of the name. "Where?"

"In Richmond. And we were right, he's an Irregular."

"No wonder we couldn't trace it." Kallen said out loud. "It was never part of the Britannian military."

Zero nodded. "Apparently, this knight serves a former noble from the west. He and some Irregulars helped take the stronghold."

"And they couldn't have done it in a better time," A smooth female voice said. Kallen turned to see a slim young woman with brown hair walking to them. Under her purple cloak, she wore her Knight of the Round uniform.

"That stronghold took out almost a quarter of our troops in the early campaign." Mellenia Evergreen, Knight of Nine said. She gave a smile to Kallen who returned the gesture. Since the beginning of the war months ago, Kallen had gotten close with some of the Round members. First was Anya whom she had already known and other was Mellenia.

It wasn't a good start with Mellenia as with most the old Britannian knights initially had little respect for her. Their first meeting turned from exchanging insults into a brawl until it was broken up by the other knights. Later, they attempted to finish what they had started in a more formal duel: at the point of a sword. The duel did not come out as expected when they engaged close quarters, where Kallen's skills in Judo and wrestling finally won through. But in the end, both won each other's respect and they became fast friends. Suzaku once said that his and Lelouch's first meeting was similar before they became friends as well.

Evergreen was once the Knight of Eleven who was off fighting the E.U. with Nonette Enneagram. Neither of them participated in the rebellion and had laid down a low profile not wanting to be involved in the battle between Lelouch and Schneizel.

"We just managed to take the city just in time. The reinforcements from New York were already half way through during that time. We would have been trapped between the relief forces and the defenders."

"Then you've met him?" Zero asked.

"I saw him but was only able to talk to his second in command. He was wounded in battle. He personally led a storming party into the Keep and killed the rebel commander. He was in a rather bloody mess when I saw him."

"What is his name?" Kallen asked urgently. She had no idea why she was feeling like this but it was probably because she felt like she owe him her life and many others. After all, he did save just about over five million people including the Empress of Britannia.

"One Arthur Peregrine."

* * *

**Ok, this isn't one of my best endings so if it sucks I apologise. Well some of you probably noticed now that I had been deliberately avoid describing Arthur's appearance. Well now you know why! I think I have a problem in describing normal conversations and I could use some good advise so please add it along with your review if you can. Read & Review!**


	9. Chapter 8: A Mother

**Finally! I never thought I'd finish this. My last chapter wasn't as good as I had expected. But then again, one must learn from one's experience. So I hope this chapter will be much better. I changed the category from Drama to Mystery because I didn't see it earlier. Ok back to the story. So the titled character finally appears but is he really Lelouch or some original character I created? Lol. Who knows? Read and find out! Merry Christmas, my friends and Happy New Year!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CODE GEASS OR LELOUCH WOULD HAVE LIVED!**

* * *

**Rocky Mountains**

**Order of Afron Headquarters**

"We have a problem." Anduin muttered as he entered the room, taking off his dusty helmet.

"What is it?" Harry asked who revealed to be a young dark skinned man of possibly Hawaiian or Asian descendent with bright brown eyes, dark hair and a small moustache. They were back in the Order Headquarters at the Knights' Lodging with the other knights.

"While we were getting out of Richmond, Arthur was spotted. I managed to convince the Knight of Nine that he was badly wounded. Thankfully Arthur was covered in blood so she bought it. But that's not the problem, now that she saw that it _was_ Arthur who led the attack, she's going to report it to Zero and the Empress."

Harry looked at his fellow knight in alarm.

"Does Arthur know of this?" He asked.

"Probably but he hasn't said anything about it. What do you think we are going to do? We can't simply say that he just look like the Demon Emperor. Not after what happened."

"True. I was worried about that when he suddenly took off alone for at New England. But it has past beyond that now. I guess we'll just have to deal with it."

"Deal with it? Lelouch made himself an enemy out of the world! The moment they see his face, they won't listen to any reason! They'd come at him with torches and pick forks and tear him apart."

"Well if that really happens, _he'll_ one doing the tearing," Harry mused as stood up and walked to the window to stare at the Rocky Mountains that filled the landscape. "But yes, I agree with in that regard. I guess we'll just have to leave that to Lord Bedford."

"But you know, Harry. I think there's something about Arthur that they haven't told us about."

"Well, he's full of secrets." He turned back and lean against the wall. "I think it's not just his face that he shares with Emperor Lelouch."

"He's a good man." Anduin said with defensive loyalty.

"I don't doubt that." Harry assured him. "I'm just saying that there are some things that they're not telling us. But then again, some secrets are better off remaining hidden until the proper moment."

"True. Speaking of secrets, have they found anything on that disk?" Anduin went over to the fridge and brought out a bottle of sparkling.

"Not much. Most of it is encrypted. Lloyd and his crew are still working on it."

"It must be really encrypted if it's taking the Pudding Earl _that_ long. But that aside, do you think this disk will give us an advantage over the Cult? Sparkling?"

"Thanks." He held out his glass. "I hope so. Just because Lelouch destroyed the entire facility doesn't mean they're not out there. My guess is they're involved with the Purists. It's the only explanation for their ability to gain such a force."

**Two days later in New Pendragon**

"Miss Kallen?" The half-Japanese woman startled and turned to see young Calia whom Kallen brought to the palace. She had just finished with the Guren's repairs and was taking a small break. Being one of the high ranking leaders of an expedition was not an easy job and Kallen had time and time again had to read reports and give orders to both Black knight and Britannian units. She was beginning wonder how Suzaku must have felt as both CEO of the Black Knights AND commander of the Imperial army.

Calia was dressed in a white blouse. Her long blue hair was combed and had ribbons on it.

"Yes?" Kallen knelt to look at the young Britannian girl.

The girl took out a blue pedalled flower from her back and handed into Kallen's hand. To her surprise, it was made of paper.

"It is for you." She said and added. "My brother taught me how to make it."

Kallen gave her the best smile she could make and took the flower. It was like the Japanese origami though in a different way.

"Thank you." The Black knight ace answered. "Your brother taught you well." She said as she examined the work. It was an honest compliment.

"My brother taught me a lot of things." Calia smiled happily.

"That is indeed, a well made flower." A cheery voice commented behind Kallen. _They love to startle me don't they?_ Kallen thought irritably as she turned to face the new comer. To her surprise, it turned out to be Nonette Enneagram, the former Knight of Nine, now Knight of Four, wearing a grey cloak. She was a tall woman, tall as Cornelia with a slim curved yet muscular body, dirty green-blond hair and a cheery face.

"Auntie Nonette!" Calia cried and jumped into the Knight's hands and hugged her tightly. Nonette smiled as she embraced her. Kallen looked at them both in surprise.

"You have grown Calia." Nonette said as she let go of the young girl. "Auntie and Kallen now need to talk so could you run along to your room?" She said softly. The girl nodded and turned jumped into Kallen's arms, surprising the red head. Kallen slowly hugged back and watched Calia as she skipped down the hallway.

"I haven't seen you since you arrived, Kally." Nonette said with a playful tone.

"You too. And please stop calling me that!" Kallen said, embarrassed.

"Oh lighten up, girl." The older woman said as she put an arm around Kallen leading her down the corridor.

"Thank you…" Kallen said hesitantly.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, thank you for taking Calia in. She had no where to go."

Nonette laughed at the teenager's hesitant tone much to Kallen's annoyance. "It's not a problem. In fact, I should be thanking you."

"What do you mean?" Kallen asked, confused.

"You see," Nonette began, becoming sombre. "I once had a daughter. Her name was Maria. His father was killed in battle months ago and I was left to raise him. And as you can imagine, as a Knight my duty often kept me from my child but I would always hold her in my arms whenever I am back home."

The Knight of Four suddenly stopped and looked over. "During one mission, she was taken away from me by Charles' brother, a man name V.V. He's the leader of the Geass Cult. Yes, I know the truth about Lelouch." She added seeing Kallen's expression at the mention of Geass.

"They…used her as an experiment because she had a "gift" and they used her like a lab rat. I was on my way there when your Black knights attacked their hideout."

"You mean the massacre of the women and children in the Chinese Federation?"

At that Nonette gave a bitter laugh. "At a first glance, I guess it would seem that way." She said after a moment. "There were many innocents among the dead," Nonette agreed. "But they were better off being dead than killing machines under V.V. They were creating a powerful army made up of Geass users taken from many nations."

Kallen suddenly remember that boy who called himself Lelouch's brother. Rolo. That's his name. The one they fought against in Babel Tower. She never truly interacted with him but she knew how dangerous he was despite his appearance. The way he assassinated numerous Britannian officers proved it.

"I used the chaos to try and save her," Nonette continued. "But she was already dead when I got there. I…wanted revenge. I hated everything I had ever fought for: the Empire, the Emperor, everything! But my chances were very slim so I took myself into the frontlines where I could unleash my anger."

Then Kallen realised why she had not seen this knight in the war. "So that's why you didn't join the coup against Lelouch."

"Yes. He avenged my baby's death…and many others. Who knows how many deaths V.V. and Charles was responsible for! But still I had failed as a mother to Maria. I hope to make it up with Calia. So thank you, lass."

"I'm just glad to have helped." Kallen answered with a smile. Once again, she wondered how she might have reacted to this conversation two years ago when she was still a resistance fighter.

"I guess it must be really hard for you." Nornette said suddenly. Kallen looked up at the senior knight. "Lelouch's death I mean."

Kallen nodded sombrely. "It's hard to take it especially since he died a hero's death yet remembered as a tyrant in history."

"Yes. I find it hard to accept that. But it is what he wanted. Come, Her Highness will be meeting our Scarlet Saviour in two days time. We must be prepared."

***

**Vancouver, Canada**

**Northern Britannia**

**Purist 3rd Fleet**

"Your grace, our agents have found a survivor of Baron Morbis' personal guard which was massacred in Richmond." An elder guard captain with a deep green cape announced.

"Thank you, Edward." The Duke of Oxbridge was discussing with his generals about their new assault of the Imperial garrison on the Province of British Columbia. They had lost contact with the capital a few days back before the relief force announced that the Keep had fallen though not really by a frontal siege. He found it strange that such a defence had fallen so quickly to the Imperial Home Guard and their allies so he ordered to pick up any survivors from the battle and be sent to his quarters.

Edward led the noble and his ever present retinue of officers down to the sickbay where various wounded and others were kept. The captain led them to a soldier who was wounded in many places with bandages and bruises covering all over his body. His uniform the old blue Britannian army uniform was in part ripped from his body and bloody scars still cover the unbandaged flesh. His skin was pale, utterly white as if he was a corpse. Only the constant motion of his chest showed any indication of life.

The highbourne officers looked at the man in both horror and disgust preferring to stay behind Oxbridge, their fine sensibilities disturbed by the hellish sight but the noble ignored them focusing on the soldier instead.

"Lieutenant?" He called. The man slowly opened his eyes to look at the newcomer. "I am Lord Hamilton, Grand Duke of Oxbridge."

The soldier nodded in recognition so Oxbridge continued. "Now what exactly happened in that fort?"

"It waz…likehell…." He muttered quickly, his eyes wide with fear. "…liewalking in the halls of bloody hell…"

"Calm down, boy." The Duke assured him as the man's started to tremble, hoping the man still had some sanity left in him. "The Keep's garrison was in complete rout and the entire, the city's defences turned on our own forces with every man on the 7th Level is dead including, two platoons and the Baron's entire Guard. How is this possible? Were they local loyalists? Were they Knights of the Round?"

The man thought for a moment. "I…I can't remember…they suddenly attacked…out of no where…some from the sewer lines…"

Oxbridge nodded. It made sense. They must have found an underground path. But that meant the attacking force would be small.

"Continue."

"There were only a few of them…but they slaughtered us like animals…"

The story flowed from the messenger like a wound beyond sealing. The Imperial attack force appeared out of nowhere firing and destroying anything in their paths. For each one Knightmare the rebels brought down, they'd lose five. At first, the Purists were not truly alarmed as they were so few of them to take the Keep.

"We thought we couldn't be stopped by this little rubble but…well…they put up a good fight."

Then the attackers had suddenly divided and with one force engaging the defenders while the other stormed the Keep.

"They cut through the Household troops like you'd cut a cake! We could hardly believe it, my lord."

Many nobles seemed to be disturbed by this. The Household Guard was the unofficial royal guard to every noble, the best of their troops. Oxbridge nodded as he digested the tale. "But if so few, how is it that they could take the keep?"

"I don't understand much either, sir. Their leader, a red Vincent -"

"Red Vincent?!" Oxbridge interrupted, suddenly alarmed. "They were led by a red colour Vincent?"

"Aye, my lord. That…that red monstrosity smashed anything in its path…."

The Britannian noble considered the possibility of the Vincent being the same knight he met at New England.

"What happened then?"

"Then I don't know, my lord." And so on, the soldier explained how he and his squad engage the interlopers when strange incidents took place all over the keep: elevators stopping, video cameras malfunctioning, gun-turrets turning on their own troops, lights turning on and off, gun fire from unseen locations.

"Then suddenly…" His face twisted in horror. "A demon! A demon from the halls of bloody hell! It appeared out of no where! Cutting! Slashing! Stabbing!" His words were becoming less articulate and finally fainted.

But Oxbridge had heard enough. It was the same Knightmare that spoiled what would have been a complete victory for the Purists. Had it been anyone else, he would not have believed it. This knight was becoming quite a nuisance.

"Tell our spies in Pendragon and gather as much information on this knight as possible." He told his subordinates. "And contact Lunamaria Bradley and see if she is ready with her toys. We'll see if she's as good as she says."

The Duke of Oxbridge returned to his own quarters to rest. Looking at the bigger picture, he wasn't particularly worried about the fall of Richmond or this knight's association with the Imperial family that had interrupted his plans on the capital. True, it did slow their war efforts. What was there to worry? More than half of Britannia was under their command and to gain support all they need to do was just to grant lands, money to the local leaders. The support from their allies in Europe and Asia certainly helped deal with that. Only those truly loyal to the Imperial Government resisted and they were easily dealt with. Plus they took more than 70% of the Britannian military in their cause.

When Emperor Lelouch abolished the nobility, Oxbridge and many like him rebelled against the man who took their rights. However, the Emperor had anticipated it since he ascended the throne and his Royal Guard stormed their strongholds and routed whatever troops they could field. It was brutal and quick. After his own defeat, the Duke realised that Lelouch was a master tactician rivalling Prince Schneizel himself. Knowing he was utterly outmatched, Oxbridge decided to hide and lay low until the right moment.

The Duke smiled as he took a sip of his wine, letting the gentle liquid flow over his tongue and down his throat. And that moment was when the demon was finally killed by Zero. Oxbridge knew that his time was coming so he spent the time to plan on taking control of the Britannian army. The former Duke knew that when the Empress decided to join the UFN, the entire Britannian military would have to be dismantled or join the Black knights with the exception of the Knights of the Round and the Imperial Guard. So he convinced the other Houses to use their connections in the remaining army and used them to control the army before the Britannian army could be dismantled. It took little coaxing as many were quite unhappy with the New Britannia which took all their God-given rights.

And now he, Lord Frederick Hamilton, 12th Grand Duke of Oxbridge and Overlord of Canada was now the unofficial leader of the Remnants of TRUE Holy Britannian Empire.

"I was wondering when you would show up," The Britannian noble suddenly said out loud.

"I have come, in the name of my master." A male voice that did not sound very human replied. A pair of glowing ruby orbs appeared from a nearby corner. It was framed by a large heavily cloaked figure stepped forward, the crimson eyes darting here and there.

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm still living in the times of old England. You nobles haven't changed a single bit." The figure started, brushing off something on his shoulder.

"Do you mind?" The Duke asked, disgusted by the gesture. "I just had this room cleaned."

"No, I don't." The cloaked figure said nonchalantly. "I'm only here in the name of my masters. Don't expect anything more or less."

"Indeed." Oxbridge replied sarcastically, pouring some more wine into his glass. "And I'm sure you didn't come here just to exchange insults."

"I have come here to make sure you held your end of the bargain. And from the looks of this, your progress is going _really _well."

"It _will_ be done. But right now, I need time. As commander, I need to make sure that the situation is in our favour before we attack."

The man scoffed. "You would not even be _alive_ without our help never mind being commander. The Primus grows impatient with your constant setbacks. So he sent a gift. Warriors, unmatched in stealth and deception, the wielders of the blades that had sent countless men into the deepest pits of hell, the deadliest assassins to have ever existed in this pathetic world: Shadow Striders..." Scores of crimson orbs appeared behind the man at the mention of the name.

* * *

**So Nunnally wants to meet the Scarlet knight…how would they all react when they see his face!? Or will Arthur's companions put him in some disguise? And what is his past anyway?**

**Author's Notes: Honestly, I don't know what to make of this chapter so I'll let you guys tell me. Please tell me your honest opinion. I'm not really sure of the name Shadow Striders is good for an evil organisation. If you can think of a darker and evil name, sent it along your review. Appreciate it a lot. Every review inspires me to write better. And Merry Christmas, my friends and Happy New Year! Man! I wish it would snow in Singapore!!! I miss the cold season.**


	10. Chapter 9: It has Begun

**Sorry for the late update. There's been alot going on here! Well enjoy! Read &Review! Oh CC will be in the story but I'm not sure where to put her yet. **

*****  
**

**The next day**

**In the Order Headquarters**

After helping Harry out with his unit's situation report on the Battle of Richmond, Anduin decided to check on his Knightmare.

"Hello, Captain Landers." A woman in her late twenties greeted as he entered the hanger. She had dark blue-purple hair and clad in the uniform of the Britannian Science Corp. It was identical to its Britannian Army counter-part save for the badge of the Order on the left breast: a black shield with a golden dragon.

"Hey, Cécile. Has my new Horse been saddled?"

"Not yet. We haven't finished with the final modifications for the Hadron cannons."

"Alright. Does it have the upgrades I asked for?" Anduin asked, peering at the dark Knightmare in the corner surrounded by brown coated technicians.

"That we have. We designed it just for your piloting skills alone. It has everything the Gareth has with some modifications used on the Albion."

Anduin grinned as he turned back to the young scientist. "I think I know where the _modifications_ come from."

Cécile blushed. "I guess I got a little carried away. But don't worry. It's rather stable and your skills are more than adequate to handle it."

"I didn't know you had so much faith in my skills." The blond knight added with a little charm causing Cécile's face to redden even more.

"Well…I must be going back to my work, my lord..." She started to back away.

"Hey! I was only joking. I didn't mean anything else." He apologised, grabbing her arm.

"Even then, I still need to finish up with the Lord Arthur's Vincent. Its armour still needs reinforcing."

"I thought you already did it after that incident in New England?"

Cécile shook her head. "We couldn't because Sir Arthur needed speed to fight that customise Percival. The Energy disrupter rifle we made was specifically made to counter the wings but as you can see it's not really that effective. Since the Vincent can't be equipped with Energy Wings, we had to make sure it was light enough to fly as fast. Of course Sir Arthur's piloting skills helped."

"I see." Anduin turned his gaze to the silver and crimson Knightmare while digesting all he had heard. The Vincent stood in the centre of the lines of Knightmares, its armour still gleaming in the darkness. That explains why it was so fast. Then Anduin suddenly jump.

"Wait! Light armour? So that means if he had taken even a single hit, he would be…"

"Yes." Cécile shook her head in a silent apology. "It could not be helped. Against the Energy Wing System, speed was better than armour and he barely survived even without the system's full strength. My disrupter only managed to weaken it not completely deactivate it."

"Wow. Then you'd better finish up." As Cécile returned to her duties, Anduin decided to visit give Arthur a little visit.

To his surprise, Arthur left his door open which was always close whenever he was inside or out. The ex-Britannian army officer saw his friend dressed in civilian clothes with a long bag pack. He wore a white jacket with a long dark red stripe from the collars all the way to the sleeves with a black T-shirt underneath, a pair black-grey jeans and black knee high boots.

What startled him was that his usual raven hair was pure white as if he had aged overnight.

"Going out?" Anduin asked.

"Yes." His voice was as emotionless as ever. Arthur hoisted his sword over his back where the blade became hidden by the bag. His eyes, formerly deep violet were now sky blue.

"Nice disguise. So where are you running off to this time? Last time you did it, you were in the middle of a full-scale aerial battle. And you know that we're going to meet the Empress in a few days."

Arthur nodded as they exited his room. Anduin followed knowing better than to stop him. When he made up his mind to do something, nothing can stop him. He might have been Emperor Lelouch himself in that matter. The knight certainly carried himself like him, not bothering with military protocols or regulations for that matter. Then again, no one protested. Arthur was Arthur. That was that.

"I'll be back by then. There's something I need to take care of."

"Something to do with our late the Emperor?" Anduin asked causing Arthur to halt suddenly.

He stood there in silence and with hesitation answered. "Yes."

Anduin nodded understandingly. "Take my Vincent. Cécile's still repairing yours." Seeing Arthur's questioning look he added. "I'll let you know how I found out when the time comes. Isn't that what you always said to me?"

Arthur gave him a rare smile. "Thank you."

"Just take care of yourself, man."

"You too."

***

_"When I was Zero, I led the Black knights to destroy the Geass Directorate, killing every single member. However, I suspect there are more scattered over the globe. Although they are not a threat now, by the time you read this, they would have reorganised themselves and will try to bring Geass back to the world. You realise that humanity has just started recovering from its terrible wars and such a force would bring chaos back to the world. You must do whatever it takes to stop it…the artefacts…they are the key…the first one lies in one of the three forms of Britannia: Albion, England and Great Britain..."_

"The key? The key to what?" Arthur asked, despite himself.

In truth, Arthur had no idea where to start. Three forms of Britannia? What could that mean? He knew that Lelouch was not about to tell him everything so clearly lest it be heard by the wrong ears but some time he wished his liege would tell him more clearly.

The young knight flew the cobalt Vincent over the Northern Rockies down back to the formerly known as Area 2 Canada, or other wise known as the Land of the Northern Skies greeted him and the city of New Edinburgh lay just ahead. Back in the days of the old Empire, it was the residence of many powerful nobles including one particular noble he had been looking for. One who could answer his question or at least lead him to the one who knows it.

Since he was in the former lands of the rebelling nobles, Arthur knew he had to be cautious. There was no telling who was a rebel sympathiser or a loyalist though former would likely be more dominant.

After hiding the Knightmare, Arthur made his way through the city's underground district where the former nobility still held an underground casino. What surprised the knight was that there were still people supporting these arrogant blue-bloods. He watched bitterly as a group of them jeered at what looks like a fight between two women, probably trying to gain the favour of some high noble.

This was why he hated the world. After all the blood shed, there were still people who would still go on following the past. Even after Lelouch's sacrifice, these things were still going on. He hated it. He hated every one of them.

And he will not allow them to destroy the world that his lord had given his life for. Arthur Peregrine will do whatever it takes to do it...

He walked up to the bar and ordered a cup of milk. The bartender looked surprised at him but a quick look at Arthur's fake blue eyes quickly silenced him.

As Arthur quietly drank the liquid, a large man with dreadlocks in a crimson suit walked up to him.

"How old are you, boy?" The man asked, sitting beside him. Arthur ignored him and continued to drink.

"Ah, one of the highbourne, eh?" The man assumed his silence to be that of arrogance. "Let me guess, your father is the Duke of Cambria?" His unwanted visitor glanced at the jewelled hint of his sword.

"Where is Lord Blackforest?" Arthur asked bluntly still looking at his drink. His question caught the man by surprise.

"What?"

"You heard me clearly. I would like to speak to your master if he is done watching which woman he is deciding to bed."

"Why you little toad! No one speaks ill of his lordship unless he wants to live without teeth!" The man stood up in a threatening fashion looming over him. And Arthur could see that he was at least twice his size.

"And what of you?" He continued not at the least feeling disturbed. "How much did he pay you? Was it money? Was it power? So that you can be the hammer that strikes everyone around you? They say when you become the hammer you start to see everything else around you as a nail. Typical." Arthur paused to finish his drink. "I wonder what your own mother would be thinking of you."

"Damn little bastard!" The man lunged and grab for his throat.

Arthur moved faster. His right elbow spun around and struck the ruffian's cheek strong enough to stun him hard despite their size difference. Taking the advantage of the situation, Arthur slammed his elbow into the man's jaw, throwing him back.

The man's companion rushed to his aid with a drawn pistol but before he knew it, long blade knocked the weapon out of his hand. By the time he regain focus, he was staring down a pointed sword held by the white-haired youth. At the same time Arthur drew his pistol with his free hand and pointed at his right without looking.

"Don't even think about it." He muttered to the unseen adversary he sensed who reluctantly put his hand away from his pistol.

"Impressive." A smooth voice spoke from a corner. "Most impressive. I've never seen anyone asking for my presence like this before."

The man in his mid-thirties with a short blond hair walked up flanked by two other wearing suits.

"I am Lord Blackforest and here I am as you requested. Now would you please put away that sharp blade of yours."

"Well...well...the lord of Endor had finally been forced out his tunnel to the open grounds."

Blackforest smiled. "You have me there. But who said I would cooperate with you and looking at this situation, I appear to be the one with the upper hand." He gestured to his men who all pointed their weapons at Arthur which made his body filled with red lights.

Arthur returned so call noble with his own smile. "That's why brought these."

He opened his jacket and it was filled with small spheres with glowing red lights. Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably and the guards lurched forward with their weapons.

Arthur could not help but smirked after seeing the faces of these so confident, so proud people quivering in fear.

Blackforest however, instead laughed and laughed hard as if he was being tickled by an invisible feather.

"Hahaha, impressive indeed. You are indeed my kind of scum. But could we please deal it with in a more peaceful manner. Like a game of chess?"

At the knight laughed. "Chess? That is a great idea." He lowered his weapons as he won't need them. This was going far easier than he expected.

**Ten minutes later**

**In Blackforest's personal quarters**

"That ends it. Knight to E5. Checkmate."

"Uh...how?" Blackforest stared at chessboard in disbelief. How? How could he have lost so quickly? He had never been defeated before. Not in ten years. So how...He looked at his guards who gave the same look. The pair was even in a worst shape than he was.

"Well, your lordship, we've settled it. Now I will ask you a question. In the Arthurian Legend, Arthur Pendragon had often travelled alone in disguise as a knight errant facing many enemies, am I correct?"

"So?" Blackforest's voice was still no longer friendly likely from his humiliating defeat. Nobles are so easy to taunt.

"As Valiant, he faced the dreaded Black Knight, the Giants of Asgard, the Orcs of Wendor...and the Cult..."

At the very mention of the word 'Cult', Blackforest's eyes widen and at once panicked.

"Guards! Guards!" He shouted. Arthur drew out his sword and slashed the guard flanked on his right and then drew his pistol and fired the other one. As the noble's bodyguards entered, Arthur turned over the table and threw it over to the interlopers. He pulled out his pistol and began to click rounds into his enemies. Blackforest used the chaos and ran into a corner where he disappeared into.

Arthur smirked as the former noble vanished from sight. _"Coward."_ He mentally muttered as he put a bullet into the heart of another one of the rogues. They were good marksmen but they did not have the discipline or the skills as soldiers who fight as a group. With that Arthur pulled out one of his detonators and flung it at the ceiling of the doorway which they had entered from. That Blackforest had isolated them in a different room made it very easy to cut off his reinforcements. The former nobleman had no idea who he was dealing with.

The explosive caused a small cave in and the rabble blocked the entrance. With the main threat gone, Arthur made his way through the secret door way where another explosion occurred. He had rolled a timer bomb down before the chess match had started after he noted that the wind was blowing the direction. Arthur had his explosives made into spheres for a reason.

He slowly walked down the passage where he found a half-dazed Blackforest on the floor.

"You didn't even let me finish." Arthur said with mock innocence.

"I don't know anything! I just run a business here." He growled defiantly.

"Oh, really?" Arthur m suddenly thrust his gun arm and fired in the darkness. It was followed by a groan and a thud. "I haven't even said anything yet. Did you read my mind? Is that the power of your Geass?" The knight grabbed the noble by his collar and pushed him against the wall.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Blackforest protested. At that Arthur sighed and brought his sword up pressing the blade against his neck, the razor sharp blade caused a thin red line to appear on the skin.

"Oh here, let me refresh your memory." The white haired knight pressed his palm against his forehead and squeezed it hard. Blackforest screamed as his ghostly images pass through his mind as if he had been electrocuted. The next time he opened his eyes, they flared crimson with the Geass symbol.

"What are you and your Purist friends up to? What does the Directorate want now? Talk!" Arthur pressed his blade closer against the neck.

"**You will not stop them in time! The elders have already commenced the ritual. The balance will be restored again! The six will return!" **Blackforest snarled, his eyes were literally flaring.

"Right. Now let's try this slowly. Who are the Six and what the hell does this have to do with this war?"

The Geass user snarled like a cornered beast but Arthur held him tight. **"They are the Great Ones who would return this world back to what it should have been! For centuries they have slept and soon enough blood would be spilt for their return is finally coming!"**

"So you are in league with the rebels. That explains everything. Now what are you after? Talk!"

Blackforest or rather who was Blackforest remained stubbornly defiant instead let out strings of curses. In response, Arthur pressed harder until blood was finally drawn from his neck.

"I can do this all day, you noble-born bastard. Tell me! What are you after?!" Arthur had lost his temper and pressed his left palm against his forehead again. Blackforest screamed, screamed as if the touch had burnt his skin.

"**I am not worthy of such knowledge."** He said proudly. **"But it would all be revealed with the blood of the Queen is paid..."**

Arthur's brow furrowed. Blood of the Queen is paid...Blood of the Queen...blood...he thought quickly. Then he realised it.

"The Empress? It was you!!!" He slammed Blackforest hard against the wall. "It was you lot who allowed the Purists to get pass the Imperial defences. It was you who helped take New York! So now you're going to assassinate Empress Nunnally again?! When?! When?!" Arthur swore loyalty to Lelouch that he would protect his sister from any harm on their first meeting and hearing the plot renewed his anger.

"**T...No! I must not say..." **The Geass Cultist fought back his fear .

"When?!" The knight demanded.

"**Next...Nightfall...NO! Noo!!!" **He roared and shoved the knight off with surprising force and starting to attack him viciously him like a feral animal. Arthur easily dodged the completely wild attacks and in a swift motion, he slammed his sword hint between his eyes. The jewelled hint only made the blow more lethal as Blackforest fell back.

Arthur stared at the bleeding nobleman as he readied his sword again. Blood covered his face and the knight guessed the blow must have cracked something.

"**You will...never...make it...There is nothing you...can do..."** The nobleman said.

"Oh there're many things I can do, blue-blood. I thank you for your time. I'll see you in hell." With that Arthur drove his sword into Blackforest's chest, piercing his heart at once.

Withdrawing his sword, Arthur reached for his comlink and broke into a run down the secret hall way the noble was supposed to escape.

"Anduin! It's Arthur. Hurry. Tell the Grand Master! The bastards are going to strike! And the target is Her Majesty, Lady Nunnally, Empress of Britannia!"

***

**2300**

**18****th**** November 2019**

**New Pendragon**

**Capital of the Holy Empire of Britannia**

**The Imperial Palace**

Clouds hung low over the New Pendragon, brushing over the tips of the capital's many towers and skyscrapers. Despite the great technology that powered the city, the Palace itself like many Britannian monuments was remodelled after those of the Medieval Castles in the past as a remembrance of the legacy left during the times of old Britain. Inside the palace, Zero and some of Her Majesty's commanders were still awake, pouring over old maps and comparing them with new ones to understand the various battlefields that lay all over Britannia.

The Royal Guardsmen who were posted at Palace's main entrance had nodded to the beautiful half-Britannian Knight of Two who had accompanied Zero and the Knights of Four and Nine though anyone with eyes could see the tension in her eyes as if from lack of sleep.

They shivered but otherwise paid no attention to a particular cold breeze that suddenly washed over the Palace until a stronger wind sprang up. They gripped their bayonet fixed rifles tightly to forget the uncomfortable chill.

Unlike their counter-parts, the Palace Guards, these men wore crimson uniforms and carried the Army standard assault rifles instead of the grey coats and rifled polearms. While their purpose seemed to be that of purely ceremonial, the popular misconception often led many to foolishly underestimate the Guard. Their function was to follow Her Majesty anyway and protect her from any harm. It was considered an honour to protect such a great ruler and they would gladly lay down their lives for her safety.

On the battlefield itself, they would ride the specialised Knightmares in white and red and wear their version of battle-armour.

But today, the Guard captain could not help but be tense for some reason so he ordered his men to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. He did not understand why though. The machine gun camera turrets were all activated and were in good condition. Their Knightmare and air patrols were all over the city as well as the palace but something did not seem right. Was it just him being paranoid? He did not know. Both Zero and Lord Guilford did say that it was important to trust your instincts.

He and a pair of his men that stood in the observation room shivered as a sudden gust of wind blew into the room. Then the captain noticed that the guards' shadow at the northern gate seemed to deepen. At first, he thought it was just his mind playing tricks on him but then he saw the shadow was still deep.

Then suddenly a stronger wind sprang up whisking the shadow away and revealing a black hooded figure that lunged at the hapless guard felling him at once. The Guard Captain jumped and turned to the alarm switch when he felt a presence behind him.

As he turned, a shadowy figure leapt on them. His men turned their pistols to it but then it was too fast. The Royal Guard on the right fell first his throat with his throat ripped open by some kind of blade. His companion was able trained his pistol at their attacker but before he could fire the figure swung a hand knocking the gun out and thrust his other hand into the chest. As the soldier coughed out blood and fell down without a sound.

"Damn, bastard!" The captain cursed as he drew his pistol and fired. The shadowy figure dodged the bullet with incredible speed and glared at him with glowing eyes which the soldier could not help but stare back for the moment. He then noticed that the glow was made by a red bird like symbol in the pupil.

Before he knew it, the shadow disappeared and felt his mouth covered by a metallic glove which muffled his scream as he felt something piercing his back and bursting it out of his chest. The officer managed to look down to see a bloodied hand pouting out his chest before everything turned black.

**Cliff hanger!! That was hard writing. Sorry for taking so long. Oh and I finally got my O lvl results with an A for History and I'm qualified to go either Junior College or Polytechnic! YAY! Though when I start attending them, I doubt I can update as fast as now but I'll try my best. I'm very grateful for your reviews!**

**Oh yea,**

**Note: Since Code Geass is an alternate universe from our world, the Arthurian Legend will be an alternate version too! Just in case if you're confused by the names.  
**

**Now review or you'll never know the connection between Lelouch and Arthur!**


	11. Chapter 10: Night of the Long Knives

**Edited version and fix on some mistakes. Let me know if u spot anymore.**

**18****th**** November 2019**

**2315**** Hours**

**New Pendragon, Imperial Palace**

After discussing about where to station the new Black Knight units that came a few weeks ago, Kallen excused herself and went to bed. Clad in only a green T shirt and a pair of blue shorts, the Knight of Two lay down on the bed, eyes staring at the richly decorated ceiling.

Not for the first time since the Emperor's death, Kallen wished Lelouch was still here. She knew that the much more stabled world Kallen now lived in would not have been possible if he had not done what he had done, but she wished he had been still alive. It wasn't that the new Zero was not good for the world.

Suzaku was doing a great job as Zero and was a good leader in his own right but he was not the Zero she knew. Not the Zero she had served and admired. And definitely not the one she loved.

Lelouch Vi Britannia. The Black Prince of Britannia. The Knight of Justice. Her friend….almost lover. Certainly the attraction had been there on both sides and she knew that despite whatever Lelouch had done or had said they had both felt it. And had almost acted on it more than once.

Kallen had long ceased denying the feelings she had realised late in the war for him. It was never clear even to her as it was mixed between loyalty and duty. Duty to end Britannia's tyranny and loyalty to her commander. She had belatedly realised that those feelings hid what she had truly felt for the former prince.

And the very thought that she had once hated him and that she had fought trying to prevent him from saving her and the world was now a festering wound that would immediately bring tears to her eyes wherever she was. It hurts even more when she realised it after on that day and it took everything to keep herself from breaking down and cry like Nunnally did. She had only allowed herself to do it when she was finally alone in her bed that night. It felt like her heart was being ripped into pieces then crushed.

Before the Civil War while she attended Ashford, she had spent months mourning in silence and her acting skills clearly helped. The only people who realised it were Nunnally and Suzaku during their visit to Ashford. But as she thought of his sacrifice and how happy everyone was, Kallen's feelings for him had exploded again and she constantly wished that she could go back in time to change it. She wondered how things would have turned out if she had known the truth about Lelouch while they were still in Ashford...how it would have been if she had seen through his lies on the _Ikaruga..._or...if she had chosen his side instead. But then she realised that Lelouch had saved her from fighting her friends, her country and becoming an enemy of the world at the same time making her brother's dream come true. He did it so she, Nunnally and the others would be happy.

But despite everything, despite creating the gentler world Lelouch had sworn to create, despite the fact that he had kept humanity from destroying itself, he failed to give her one thing that Kallen would even risk her very soul for: his heart. If that idiot prince had thought she could move on with her life without him just like that he was wrong.

It wasn't that she did not have a choice in this matter. On the contrary, her feminine features attracted many men and she lost count how many of them had tried to win her heart including Gino. The Knight of Three was a flirt but despite that had many attractive features. He was a loyal knight and a soldier who stood up for justice. It was clear when he chose to join the Black Knights. Had she been anyone but Kallen Kouzuki, she would have gladly accepted him. No. Lelouch was irreplaceable. And even when she did feel lonely, Kallen knew her heart ached for Lelouch and Lelouch alone.

Kallen had been dreaming about Lelouch more and more ever since that battle in New England. Unlike that weird nightmare about cultists, these however were happy ones where she would find herself dancing with him, fighting under him against some unseen foe or simply resting in his arms. Or even kissing...but this one was different where they both would have it in this world...the world Lelouch died for...she thought bitterly.

Knowing that she wouldn't get any sleep now, Kallen went to the bathroom and washed her face. But the moment she looked in the mirror she could not help but see the familiar raven-haired prince behind her and realised that she missed not just his leadership but his company.

To make things simple, they had almost been lovers but the timing had never been right.

Kallen was suddenly angry. Angry at the Purist rebels. Angry at the men who flirted with her. Angry at Lelouch for abandoning her... so angry that she wanted to jump into hell just so she could punch his face.

But being angry was not going to do anything. Taking deep and slow breaths, Kallen calmed herself down before she breaks something. She remembered that conversation they had so long ago when Kallen was having her second thoughts on the cause after the Battle of Narita where many civilians were caught in the crossfire.

"_Will there be sacrifice? Yes, not just soldiers but innocent bystanders as well. Even so_..." He hesitated then firmly answered. _"__**Because**__ of that, I cannot stop. Even if I need to cheat or to hurt others, I must persevere. To that end, I must become carnage incarnate. I must spill more blood, so the blood already split will not be in vain._"

It was also the day where she made her commitment that she would stand by his side on their road to bring a peaceful world. Kallen wished that she had known his true identity on that day and knew that if she had, she would have been willing to follow him to hell even as early as then.

It was also because of that reason, she had chosen to take up the sword again and become a Knight of the Round for Nunnally. For the sake of the sacrificed. For the sake of _Lelouch's _sacrifice.

Wearing just her Knight of the Round uniform without the mantle, Kallen went out of her room to her usual spot near the window edge where the Aries Villa laid.

"I thought you were sleeping?" Mellenia's voice injected behind her. Kallen turned to see the brunette walking up to her. The Knight of Nine was still in her full uniform with the violet mantle.

"Can't sleep." She replied simply. "Too much stress I guess."

Mellenia smirked. "Get used to it, girl. You're not just the Knight of Two but the of the Black Knight Expedition forces. I'd say you're crazy if you weren't stressed."

The former Black Knight ace shook her head. "I can't wait for Todoh to arrive and take over. It's not the fighting I'm tired about. It's the..."

"Paperwork?" Mellenia suggested.

Kallen nodded. "Paperwork."

The brown haired knight laughed. "Hahaha, Yeah. I hate it too. It's because of that I got my Guard Captain to do all of it every time we get back."

Kallen gave her a smile. "But then again, we haven't been going out much. I'm dying for some action. So are the other knights back? I saw Alleria a week ago in Pendragon."

"Well...James and Henderson, they just arrived back from Burma. That's it. Isaac was killed in Wellington and Decker is MIA. So only those two I guess." She said sombrely.

"I see." It was bad news indeed. With two Knights gone, that means two less guardians for Nunnally.

Mellenia nodded. "Yeah. Our forces are spread too thin. The rebels have us outnumbered and outgunned on too many battlefields. I mean numbers do not win a battle but you have to admit it certainly does help!"

Kallen nodded, remembering some of the battles she had fought under Lelouch back in the days of the rebellion.

***

**2345**** Hours**

**Imperial Palace**

**Camelot Keep, Observation Tower**

Despite the near-destruction of the Capital early in the war and the grim situation in Britannia, the Royal Guard at the Keep's main entrance which over looked the glimmering capital was not very concerned and rightly so. There was little to fear from the direction as other than the city itself, the palace was guarded by three layered walls that were armed to the teeth with more than Knightmares. Along with laser nets, motion sensors, security cameras, the Knights and soldiers of the Imperial Guard patrol the area fervently in the form of both machine and man with the latest quantum gear to date. And even if the enemy should pass through both the city's and Palace's defences, it would take an army of thousands to storm the Keep which was guarded by Zero and the Knights of the Rounds along with their personal forces. But despite such knowledge, the soldiers were no less vigilant in their duty and stood alert through both camera and human eye for anything suspicious. They were not chosen to be part of the Guard without a good reason.

Thus it caused a great concern when one of their men's IFF signal suddenly blinked on the screen. At first, the lieutenant thought it was his eyes playing tricks on him but when he saw another soldier's IFF blinked and more and more, the officer realised that something was definitely wrong. But before he could do anything else, one of his men called him.

"My lord! We're receiving an incoming transmission from the 8th Guard." The officer checked the unit where the IFF signals were from and sighed in relief when they matched that of the unit.

"Patch it through."

A high ranking officer with the insigne of a Justicar, the Royal Guard version of a Colonel appeared in the screen straight in attention in full uniform including the plumed shako.

"My lord!" The lieutenant saluted. "Is everything alright? We got some reading that there's a disturbance in your area."

The figure nodded. "Yes. Lower your shields."

The lieutenant blinked. "Sir?"

"Lower the shields and close all communications."

The guardsmen stared at each other in confusion.

"What does he mean by that?" One of the Guardsmen whispered.

"He wants us to lower our defences?" His companion muttered in confusion.

"Maybe there is possible attack?" Another suggested.

"Lower the shields and close all communications." The Justicar repeated, the brim of his shako hid the officer's eyes.

The lieutenant in command stared at his men who gave him the same confused look.

"Oi! What is this all about lowering shields?" An approaching figure demanded as he entered the room. His uniform was more elaborated than the Lieutenant's and had a golden sword insigne of a captain on the right shoulder. "My lord! Was it you who issued the orders?" He quickly saluted.

"Lower the shields and close all communications." The Justicar repeated again.

"Are we risk of an attack, sir?"

There was a pause, then. "Yes. An attack."

"But we haven't received word from the front gates or Lord Guilford and our patrols haven't said a thing."

Another pause then. "Infiltration." The Justicar spoke in soft tones. "They pass our defences. Dangerous to allow them to hear. I need to come here personally and speak. Lower the shields and close all communications." The commander paused then added. "Ambush."

The Guard officer considered it then barked at his men. "You heard him. There's going to be an attack and we're going to trap them. Lower the shields and open the gates, Stefan. Do it. Commence Operation Night Guard." Sometimes in the military, there were times that the soldiers were forced to use simple words over the complex military codes especially in this time.

The Justicar watched silently as the Blaze Luminous Shields slowly disappeared and the blast doors opened wide, embracing any invading army.

"Anything else, sir?" He asked.

"Remain in your positions." And he walked off.

But as their defences were being reduced, the Guard captain silently thought of the commands given to him by the Justicar.

What was he thinking? Letting their guard down so openly. What if an enemy spy was listening to them? Or worse what if an assassin takes advantage of this? While the Guard officer was confident in the Capital's defences, it would be foolhardy to take risk it. It did not seem right to just open the doors and lower the shields without proper explanation. He said there were some invaders and they would ambush them but using this was a great risk. Something nagged at him as if he was doing something foolish but orders were orders.

Yet, he could feel in his stomach that something was definitely not right. The only reason why he obeyed such commands so readily was because of the respect he held for a Justicar, a notable rank second only to the Guard Commander. But the orders...it made no sense at all. He knew that it was a court martial offence to refuse a direct order and that those who reach such an impressive rank were not made up of fools. Besides what if there was an attack? He might be causing the death of the Empress.

But still, it was no way how to defend the Empress. Shouldn't they warn Zero and the Knights and tell them to take the Empress to safety first?

"Bah! To hell with orders, even from them! Lieutenant, close the doors! Reactivate the shields!" He shouted.

"But sir, the commander..."

"I'm taking responsibility here! You heard me! This is a matter of her Majesty's safety! No one is going to endanger that." The officer knew he might be signing the death sentence of his career but he did not care. He was a Royal Guard and his priority was the Empress' well being.

Now that he thought of it, the Guard Captain saw that they were allowing an enemy into the Empress's own resident. While in military terms it was a good plan to fool an enemy making him think how easy their job was going to be and then trap them, but they were risking the Empress's own life here..

And that was completely opposite of what the Royal Guard stands for!

His thoughts were interrupted as one of his men seated beside him jumped.

"You there, what's wrong with you?" The captain demanded, glad to let his anger out at something else.

"Sir..." Before he knew it, the officer's face was splattered with blood. Once he recovered, he found the soldier's head had disappeared in a mist of blood haze.

"What the hell-" The captain jerked his head to the entrance and found himself frozen. It was like watching a horror movie. Like a pack of startled bats, they appeared out of the darkness and sprang up before them like living shadows. The nearest guardsman raised his rifle and fired at the incoming invaders. The captain was just able to see the guardsman letting out a single round before the dark tide washed over him.

The attack broke the paralysis and the soldiers drew out their weapons and sent volleys of rounds into their invaders. But they were too quick and several were consumed by the dark tide before their weapons could even discharge. The Guard Captain emptied an entire clip into one figure who charged at it. Somehow, his adversary easily danced around the raining bullets as if he had the speed of an eagle. His training kicked in and the officer dodged an upcoming blow from what revealed to be a nasty looking dagger or short sword. He pushed one of the chairs towards him…or rather it and raised his pistol again. The room was filled with the sound of gunfire, the clash of steel and the screams of pain.

Just as he was about to squeeze the trigger, something metallic slashed at him taking his firearm away from him. Not letting his shock getting the better of him, the soldier jerked to the side as the cloaked figure thrust at him again. Again, he thanked his drill sergeants as the Guard officer's hand instinctually went to the gold hinted sabre at his hip and drew the sword in time to parry a second attack by his first adversary. Then with all his might, he lashed out a broad swing which forced his opponents back lest they be decapitated.

At the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red and black struggling where the former was struck down. As he parried against two new fresh attacks, the captain heard his lieutenant scream as the younger officer's ribs were broken by a heavy blow on his torso.

Before long, the Guard officer found himself surrounded by the fallen bodies of his comrades and their dark slayers. He regarded them and their glowing red eyes fixed on him like a prey caught in a web and knew at once that once he raise only weapon against one, the others would fall upon him. But his eyes were not focused on them. Instead they were on a small crimson box that lay on the wall.

"Well, you can kill a whole team of sentries at ease. I can grant you that." He grinned at them. "But let's see you try the entire Guard." The captain's sword flew out towards the wall.

_**"Warning! Warning! Security breached! Code Red to all units!"**_

_**"**__**Repeat. Code Red to all units! This is not a drill!"**_

Like a startled beast, the entire palace woke up. The compounds and corridors so empty and quiet before were now filled lights and the screeching sound of the alarm.

One of the hooded figures turned to the security monitors to see the situation. A grim smile crossed his hidden features.

"It's time."

As if signal to his words, a series of explosions burst around certain places of the Palace the thundering noises drowning the blaring alarm as well as the screams of the soldiers.

Lord Guilford, the guard commander in charge of the city's defences watched the scene in shock and surprise. How could they have gotten here through some of the most heavily guarded areas in the world? How could _he _allow it happen and endanger her majesty and his Princess' beloved sister?

With effort, the knight shook away the despair. It wasn't over yet. Whatever happens, he will make sure that the Empress lived. For the sake of Britannia!

"Get me, Captain Wilkins." Lord Guilford, spoke through his com-link watching the fire that was licking at the damaged buildings. "I need all Knightmare units out here now! We need to....They've blocked all hanger bays? Wha-" He was interrupted by a volley of rounds that suddenly rained down on his lieutenant and his twenty men strong unit on his right. The men danced in the gunfire, the iron spikes slicing through their flesh and bones spraying red hot blood on the luscious grass and the walls. The lieutenant's head was hanging by a bloody thread, almost decapitated. One soldier was almost torn into two by the torrent of fire.

A second volley followed but Guilford was prepared and twisted away, jumping to the side. He was pleased to see his men doing the same escaping it but several of the slower ones were caught in the horrific barrage.

The royal knight brought his pistol up and returned fire against their unseen attacks.

Then suddenly something dark dropped from the skies and a massive figure landed heavily on the ground. Two orange sized red orbs appeared in the darkness which revealed its horned head. Despite the lack of light, Guilford could see that it was a Knightmare Frame. The eyes opened up and its face opened up to reveal its factsphere. The Knightmare then suddenly turned around and fired with what Guilford presumed were automatic cannons its chest. The oversized rounds peppered the defence turrets, CCTV cameras and other automatic defences in its sight.

A second Knightmare landed behind the first one and sprayed spikes in its direction. And then a third and a fourth until there were about half a dozen of them in the courtyard. Together they formed a perimeter and laid waste at the defences in the area.

In a few seconds, a trio of Imperial Guard Vincents descended from the skies with rifles and lances at the ready.

Suddenly from the skies a large elevator size object fell down right between them before Guilford could even blink, it shot out a thick transparent green-blue wave. The royal knight instinctually raised a hand but other than making his long hair dance, it passed through them without effect. Or so he thought when he looked to the skies. The Vincents as the emerald wave touched them suddenly stopped in mid-air.

"What?" Cornelia's knight watched as the Imperial Guard Knightmares suddenly lose power and came down crashing on the courtyard. One of them crashed right into a tower setting the entire building aflame.

Guilford swore. They were using a Gefjun Disturber though a more potent version of it that even Seventh Generation Knightmares were affected by it. Which means the majority of their Knightmares would be render useless so they'll have to destroy it from the inside. The problem is that they had six Disturber resistant Knightmares guarding it with only infantrymen to assault it with. "You there contact all K.M.F patrols. Tell them we're under attack. Warn Kannon! They've come for the Empress. She needs to be protected at all cost!"

As the soldier nodded, another voice shouted in his ear. "Lord Guilford! This is Claudio! We're under attack from the south!"

"They planned this." The knight commander muttered angrily. Knowing that the situation was well out of his hands so he shouted to his men, "Hold them off! Protect the Empress at all cost!"

***

**2355**

**Camelot Keep Interior**

"We're under attack!" Nonette burst out of nowhere. Her face showed none of the joy and laughter Kallen had been used to seeing.

Both girls stared at the older woman in surprise. "What? By whom?"

"We haven't identified them yet. Guilford and the others are trying to hold them off. Zero is taking the Empress to safety! I'm going to help him out."

"Mellenia and I'll lend the Guard a hand." Kallen said. "We'll see what we can do to delay them!"

The three ran off in opposite directions.

"How could they get in here without alerting the entire city?" Mellenia asked as the two knights ran down the richly decorated passage.

"I don't know. But whoever they are, they're no fools!"

"Wait!" Mellenia halted in front of an old painting of an ancient English king. She pressed a few unseen buttons on the frame when the portrait opened up revealing a comm centre. The Knight of Nine pulled out the keyboard and started typing.

"What are you doing?" Kallen asked.

"Sending a message to all guard officers. If someone's smart enough to get in here without alerting the entire Imperial Guard, they'll be smart enough to hack into our communication net work. I'm using the old fashion way."

"Morse code?" The Japanese-Britannian girl asked. Kallen remembered that her fellow knight served in the Britannian military intelligence prior to her ascension to the Knights of the Round.

"Yup." She hit a toggle and pressed another button. But as she did everything on the screen suddenly disappeared in a black space along with all the lights in the entire passage. Only the moonlight and the explosions from outside kept the darkness from consuming them.

Kallen blinked. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"Uh...Nope. Looks like I was right. But I think I managed to send out the message though."

Then a growling sound suddenly echoed in the palace.

"What the hell was that?" said Kallen.

"The sound our unwanted guests entering. Come on!" The brunette continued the trek through the now barely visible corridor. They were passing the dining hall where Kallen had met Milly and Rivalz when they heard a long burst of rifle fire from the main entrance.

They slowed down at once and slammed flat against the wall. Slowly, Mellenia drew out her pistol careful not to make any noise. Kallen also drew out her own firearm. It was an old Japanese pistol she had used during the war and had served her well. Kallen hadn't used it for a long time since she spent most of her time in the cockpit of the Guren. And now that she was out in the open, she tends to use it again.

A bark of automatic weapon fire roared somewhere. Kallen heard booted footsteps and more shouts from the hallway on her right.

A scream of agony followed it as well as the sound of booted footsteps became louder.

Mellenia gave Kallen a look then nodded. The two slowly crept up to the entrance and Kallen pressed herself against the wall not to give her presence away.

Five of the grey coated Palace Guards joined them from one entrance, their rifled polearms at the ready. They crept up from the other side.

"We heard gunfire." The foremost of them said. "Our commander sent us to investigate."

"The Empress?" Kallen asked.

"Lord Zero and Lady Nonette are taking her to the refuge. But power's out. We're trying to get the backup generators up but something was wrong so we were sent out."

Mellenia lean back to look at the entrance again. "Must be by an EMP wave." Kallen thought she muttered before she continued. "There's obviously something over there and I'm not going to wait for it to take us so easily. Come on!"

Kallen took her safety off and nodded, following her fellow knight with the Palace Guards behind them. Another burst of rifle fire was heard. They quicken their pace, knowing that whoever infiltrated the Palace was no fool.

Upon taking a turn pass, a torrent of machine gun rounds sprayed above their heads forcing them back. The iron spikes shredded the wooden frame of a portrait on the wall, utterly ruining the priceless painting.

"Look alive!" a voice shouted.

"They're all over the place!" Another shouted.

An explosion rocked the floor though not enough to pull them off balance. Something heavy suddenly flew and slammed into the shredded portrait. It revealed to be one of the Palace Guards. He fell back and his head slumping against the wall. Kallen did not bother helping him up after glancing at his pupil-less eyes.

Kallen and her companions stormed through, their guns at the ready.

They were in the library. Though the lights were gone, the library's ceiling had been made transparent as a sign to show to conserve electricity during one of the Empress' policy to promote "Saving the Earth" campaign months ago so the moonlight had shined through clearing much of the darkness from their eye sight.

An ocean of books greeted her. Several shelves had fallen and countless tomes littered the massive room. It was like as if a tornado had struck the room.

Three soldiers of the Palace Guard and four Royal Guardsmen stood in the centre of the room surrounded by a makeshift barricade made up of tables. The redcoated soldiers fired several bursts of their automatic rifles at something while the Palace Guards were using their rifled polearms on the opposite side.

Mellenia and Kallen raced towards them as their continued their constant fire.

What happened here?" Mellenia demanded.

"They just came in, milady. Out of the darkness. As it had been the gates of hell." The man's face pale and covered with sweat and dirt.

"Who came out?" Kallen pressed.

"I'm not sure. Look like bloody damn ghosts if you ask me!"

Kallen was about to ask him to be specific when one of the soldiers shouted.

"There it is!" The Guardsman dragged a long burst at the corner, holding no regards for the books as the iron rounds ripped through the tomes that held countless knowledge. But there was nothing there.

"I saw it!" He insisted. "I saw it there!"

Mellenia snapped. "Saw what? I don't see anything."

No sooner than she said it, they heard a heavy thud. Everyone tensed and gripped their weapons tightly. There was dead silence. Kallen had visited the library several times before during in her, enjoying the tranquil silence. But the silence that sliced through the atmosphere now was far from tranquil.

Other than the constant breathing of Kallen's companions and the panting of these surviving men not a single sound rang through their ears. Which could mean two things to Kallen: one, whatever did this to the room had gone out...two, they...he...it was waiting for the moment where one of them would make a simple...careless mistake.

Something shifted on Kallen's left and she quickly trained her gun point there.

"Who's there?" She demanded, letting her voice project out.

Then Kallen heard something cutting through the air. The Black knight ace's head snapped to the direction in question her finger ready to press the trigger. The soldier she was speaking to had fallen to the ground, a thick bronze framed blade protruding in his left shoulder.

Dark figures leapt towards them in high speed, swamping on them. The soldiers returned fire on the raining shadows. As if they were a herd of bats, they scattered around the deadly volleys. Though some of the rounds disappeared in the darkness, Kallen didn't see any of them dropping.

Foremost of them dropped to the ground in a graceful land and bolted towards them. The five of Palace Guards charged at them with their pikes. They were best at close combat, trained in the old arts that were unknown to most people and intent to use it to the fullest.

Unfortunately this unknown enemy seemed to be just as trained as the intruder avoided the blows at practiced ease. The soldiers thrust, slashed and kicked but all attacks were swiftly encountered.

"Die!" The Palace Guard thrust his polearm, the crimson blade almost catching its target but the shadowy figure was fast and darted out of the way. The second Guard slashed forward in a broad swipe. The assassin smoothly parried the attack in a metallic ring, its dark cloak hiding any identity of its weapon.

It thrust out its hand in mid-air and brought it down in a slashing motion so fast that it looked like a flash of silver steel passing. The soldiers froze in their mid movements, stiffen then collapsed to the ground, a pool of blood flowing out of their severed necks.

By then Kallen had time to bring her gun up fired. The assassin banked to the right and when Kallen fired again the same thing happened. On the third shot, the shadowy figure lunged forward at her, its eyes flaring crimson. Kallen's eyes widen with visible shock and horror. It was a menacing sight but it was not the reason why she was so disturbed. It was because the eyes that flared crimson bore the symbol of Geass.

Her training kicked in and Kallen jerked to her right, avoiding the blow just inches from her face. At this range, Kallen finally saw this Geass user's weapon: a gauntlet with knife-long claws. Instinctually, her leg came around in a roundhouse kick. Just as it avoided the gun shots and the spear thrusts, her opponent dodged it in a blinding speed that made Kallen thought he had teleported. She brought her gun up and fired but it avoided the iron spike again and charge at her flank.

Kallen brought her elbow up to block the attack and backed away, realising how dangerous her foe was. Now she could finally see the man clearly. He wore a long cloak that covered most of his body which Kallen glanced was a deep-violet black form fitting suit. His face was masked by a hood with only his glowing eyes visible.

Despite the mask, Kallen could have sworn she saw a malicious grin forming on his lips...

* * *

**Phew! That's over. The end of Arc I will be ending soon and I hope to be able to give it an epic ending**** even as I struggle with this new College life. And as usual read & review and please feel free to give any suggestions. I hope my writing style is ok with you guys. Let me know of any Here is small preview of the next chapter. Oh and as to the question on Lelouch, hehehe, you'll just have to keep reading to find out but as I said before, he's playing a major role here and yes at the end of this arc many of the unanswered questions will be answered and will raise new questions as well.**

The helmet was sent flying and shattered against the wall.

Kallen could not believe her eyes. Every logical part of her told her that what she was seeing was completely unreal. A dream. A fantasy. Memories of the brief but mournful funeral appeared, years of fighting under the black banner, countless nights of despair, love-sickness and anger consumed her. It was wrong. It was impossible. It...

"It can't be..."

Yet, the blood soaked figure that stood before her in the shattered armour over a torn uniform with dents, cuts and bruises and wielding the long-bladed sword already crimsoned with an unblemished face. The same face that she had thought she would never see again. The same face that haunted her since that very day. The same one she knew should no longer exist.

"Defenders of Pendragon," He started, his rich voice projecting wide.

"I am Arthur Peregrine."

"_Lelouch..__."_


	12. Chapter 11: Battle for Pendragon

**Ok, we're finally coming to the end of Arc I: The Rise of the Valiant (reedited). I was actually planning to make this the last chapter for the Arc but it turned out to be too long so I divided into two chapters. So I'm afraid the preview will not be here. Sorry to disappoint but this chapter will give hints on Arthur's past and something about Lelouch as well.  
**

**2345 Hours**

**New Pendragon**

**Outside the Imperial Palace**

Whist Royal Guard and the Knights of the Round fought hard to ensure the safety of their queen, the alarm had been sounded to the city and the Imperial Guard took off at once, their Knightmares already flying towards the city. Hundreds of aerial cruisers, Vincent Wards and Gareths descended towards the now dark-gloomy palace. At their head, Lady Alleria Calvarias, the honourable Knight of Five piloting a white and gold Vincent Commander Model.

Alleria was one of the newer Knights of the Rounds, knighted personally under Empress Nunnally herself and training overseen personally by Zero. They have yet to have a Knight of One but Zero seemed to be taking that role and no one had complained. With long golden blond hair and sky-blue eyes, she made an impressive figure. 28 years old, Alleria was tall for a woman and she was well versed in the arts of war. And she had hoped to serve their new Empress well as a Round.

But of all the places, this was the last place Alleria had expected to fight at least not like this. She did not understand it. Ever since war had broken out, New Pendragon had slowly been fortified in case of any attack especially since the Rebel army greatly outnumbered the Imperial forces. It was done fight off almost anything from the mass ground forces to aerial armadas with both the latest technology available and a garrison of five thousand loyal Guardsmen.

Thus it came as a great shock to the defenders when the palace security was breeched.

But Zero was not known just for his victory over the Demon Emperor alone, having made several precautions just in case.

And this was one of them.

"All units stay frosty and keep an eye out for any new targets." Alleria spoke through all channels. "Remember we're up against an enemy who got into the palace unnoticed. Be on your guard!"

"Yes, milady!"

A few minutes later, a soldier called.

"Lady Alleria, I've got a signal in sector 238 near the East Tower."

The Knight of Five's brows furrowed as she picked the link up herself. A half-dozen or so Knightmares sized figures began to appear in the distance. She zoomed into the nearest one and scanned its design into her computer.

_"Identification Unknown." _The AI replied.

'Unknown? New Model?' Alleria thought when suddenly her alarm systems shrieked with alarm.

"An attack?" The Knight of the Round wheeled her Vincent around. The next moment, all the five Vincent Wards and Gareths around her exploded, raining the sky with metal and fire.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Her guard captain shouted as Alleria recovered. She saw a sphere like figure spinning in the air as the rest of her Guard fired machine guns, missiles and cannon shells at it. They contacted in a massive explosion that literally blinded everything on her screen. Nothing could have survived that she thought.

Her IFF screen, however, said otherwise as the signal of...whatever it was…remained and was still rapidly approaching the nearest unit in its scope.

The foremost of the Wards and Gareths raised their weapons and fired at point bank range but their efforts were naught ripped to shreds in the air as the spinning sphere rammed through them like a lawn mower. Some Wards drew out their MVS blades and charged forward as the gyrating figure went pass them but they might have ram into a wall for all the good it did them.

It continued spinning a complete circle around them towards a single battle group. One light aerial cruiser stood in its path, firing all of its armaments but they fared no better than the Knightmares' weapons as it crashed into one of the _Caerleon_, severing it in half, killing dozens of crewmen with a single blow.

And then it finally stopped in mid-air, just hovering there.

Alleria zoomed in at once, not willing to take away this chance to study her opponent and her eyes widen in shock when she realised what she was facing.

"Siegfried …" She muttered in horror. That Knight Giga Fortress had earned the fear and respect of even highest ranking knights.

"Milady! We've tracked more signals coming towards us." A voice blared in her earpiece.

As if signalling the Guardsman's words, several more figures appeared behind the Siegfried, two of them identically similar to it. Others were the sized of the Vincents though their designs were slightly more bulky and had horns on their heads with crimson visors.

"By the Gods…" Alleria muttered. They were facing an entirely new enemy. Although they outnumbered these invaders by a large margin, they were terribly outmatched. With a curse, the Knight of Five shook off her despair and fear. She was a Knight of the Round and since Empress Nunnally had knighted her, Alleria along with many others swore their life to protect their beloved queen. And she had the chance to do so now.

Drawing her double bladed lances, she cried out to all channels.

"Come you, knights of Britannia! The function of the Imperial Guard was to protect our Empress and now this is our hour! Now come and show it to these bastards who dare threaten Her Majesty!! For the Empress!!!"

"For the Empress!" With that the battle for Pendragon had begun. They would fight to save their queen… or die trying.

**Meanwhile in the Palace itself**

A Palace Guard screamed as his chest was split open by a wicked looking dagger, blood straining on his grey uniform. His companion thrust his spear at the attacker in question which was quickly parried and was not able to utter any sound at all as a second blade slashed before him in a silver arc. His head shook and fell rolling on the green carpet leaving a train of blood.

Kallen did not know how the battle was going after the two guards' deaths as she was being hard pressed as any in the room. She had long abandoned her pistol in favour of a fallen Guard's sabre seeing that she could not aim properly at her opponent.

She raised her blade and parried a thrust at her neck and retaliated with a series of strikes and jabs. However, the Geass user was extremely skilled in combat as he managed to block every single blow she made.

As she blocked another attack, Kallen considered her chances against her opponent. She was still unable to identify his Geass but knew that they had the power to either blend into darkness or teleport short distances. Such things would have repulsed the Knight of Two was no longer surprised about the way they got in as she had seen her fair share of Geass and its power.

"Watch out!" A cloaked body collided with her from the side and Kallen bit a curse. She later regretted it when, the darkness was split by a volley of machine gun rounds. Kallen's former opponent jumped back into the safety of its shadow disappearing before the horrific barrage took it.

"Clear!" An electronic voice shouted. A squad of Royal Guardsmen in full body armour entered the room.

"You alright?" Kallen saw it was Mellenia who pushed her and gratefully took her hand.

"If you can tackle like that again in training, I'm sure you can last longer next time." She smiled.

"Can still be sarcastic at a time like this?" The Knight of Nine asked with a smile of her own.

"Are you alright?" The Guard officer asked. Their armour was different from the Army issued ones with armour a lighter grey than their Army counterpart and their crimson tunic and white pants underneath.

"We're fine." Kallen replied. Behind them Kannon, Schnizel aide de camp arrived. His green and white uniform had blood stains on them.

"Lady Evergreen, Lady Kozuki, I see you managed to survive these things."

"Any idea who they are or what they're after?" Mellenia asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. The Imperial Guard is engaging them outside the palace while the Royal Guard is engaging them in here. Guilford reported that they have Knightmares as well and are shielded from the Gejun disturber in the courtyard."

"If I can get to the hanger now, my Guren can even up the odds." Kallen suggested but Kannon shook his head.

"I'm afraid that's not possible. All paths to the hangers are blocked even the emergency exits. Someone had known them and blasted them to pieces and it'll take too long to break through."

"Do you have a communicator?" Kallen asked. She wanted to warn Zero about Geass.

The brown haired man shook his head, his expression frustrated.

"Not since Guilford called. They have an EMP device with the Gejun disturber in the courtyard. It's rendering all our Knightmares and most of our electronic equipment useless."

"Well," Mellenia cut in, hefting one of the Palace Guard's rifled pole arms. "Nothing going to happen unless we do something now! Come on!"

Kallen and Kannon followed the cloaked knight out of the room, quickly but cautiously. Shadow flickered here and there in the hall way, signalling the movement of these assassins. Desperate to find the assassins, they followed without pause.

On the way, a Royal Guardsman armed with a rifle burst in.

"Sir, we're under attack by some shadowy things!" He said, his voice shaking and his face pale although the brim of his shako covered his eyes. Kallen could well understand the man's fear. While death in battle was common, fighting these enemies unnerved even the most hardened soldier.

"Calm down! Where's your unit?"

"In the hall way. Follow me!" They followed the soldier. As they reached the edge of the hallway, the Guardsman slammed himself against the wall point his assault rifle against the door. Kallen did so against the other side. He turned and nodded.

"Now." The group stormed in, expecting heavy resistance. Their guns pointing at…nothing? It was nothing until they looked at the floor which was littered with the bodies of both Palace and Royal Guardsmen.

"I guess they must be dead now." Mellenia said sadly when Kallen heard a gasp.

"He's gone!" One of the Guardsmen exclaimed, looking back. "I swear he was here just now!"

"What? Where could he have disappeared to?"

"Something's wrong." Kannon muttered when suddenly the sound of the chamber of a rifle slamming into its place echoed.

The Britannian infantry standard issued AR-28 assault rifle was a powerful weapon, firing electric powered steel "spiked" rounds capable of rending flesh and muscles to pieces easier than it could be cleaved by a butcher's knife matching the intimidating sound it made. Kallen knew it from her days as a resistance fighter and she had seen thousands of people killed by these weapons. She had even wielded it herself more than once.

The same intimidating sound roared from the other end of the hall and a volley of supersonic rounds fired at them. The steel spikes pierced through two of the Royal Guardsmen despite the armour, rounds shattering into the helmet and the skull.

Kallen dove down to the side and drew out her pistol all in practice ease and emptied a couple of rounds into the darkness. She saw the same soldier who had led them into the hall firing the rifle. The same soldier with the exception of his glowing crimson eyes. A Geass user.

A loud barking sound boomed from her side as Mellenia fired her rifle followed by the sound of Kannon's pistol. More gun fire roared from both entrances with Kallen, Kannon, Mellenia and their squad trapped in the middle.

It seemed as if they were doomed but then Kannon crawled to the side of a suit of armour and started pressing something.

"Kannon, what the hell are you doing?" Mellenia shouted over the gunfire. One of their soldiers took a full volley in his chest, shattering the breast plate and his chest.

"There's a secret path shielded from EMP waves. In case of times like this." Suddenly, a door opened up in the wall revealing a large elevator akin to the one which Kallen remembered using in Ashford.

"Go!" Kannon roared. They entered it without protest. With two of the soldier providing covering fire, they rushed into the elevator. By the time everyone had entered, the gunfire had intensified.

"Come on!" They shouted to the last two. But as they came, one of the Guardsmen fell with his leg shot.

"Jack!" One of the soldiers shouted.

"Go!" Jack replied and the wounded Guardsman took out his grenade. Knowing exactly what he intended to do with it, Kannon sadly closed the door.

A second later, they heard an explosion. Everyone panted, trying to overcome the fact they barely escaped with their lives and a good man had given his life doing so.

Kallen used the silence to observe her surroundings. The elevator managed to fit the eight of them but just. Out of the full six man squad and the eight surviving Guardsmen who Kallen and Mellenia met on the way only five made it alive.

"Where is this taking us?" Kallen asked.

"Down to the next level. The passage there is a shorter path to reach the Empress."

As soon as they arrive, gunfire and the screams of men could be heard down the hallway they arrived from.

"Damn, they're fast. You two get to Zero quickly! We'll hold them here." Kannon barked an order to the soldiers and the fell into two lines with the front kneeling, their weapons pointing at the door way.

Mellenia and Kallen nodded and they sprinted through the other end hoping to reach Nunnally in time.

**Meanwhile in the Empress's own quarters**

Suzaku knew that such a thing might happen but he didn't expect it to be like this. The new Zero raced through the Palace to the refuge where Nunnally would be kept safe at the same time coordinated with the Imperial forces engaging her assassins. So far he hadn't been able to identify.

The sandy-blond young Empress had been sleeping so soundly that he almost regretted waking her up. Nunnally had spent countless hours dealing with the Imperial Senate, the UFN affairs and keeping peace in loyalist regions. Sometimes he wished Lelouch hadn't died and that he didn't need to rule the world as an evil tyrant to save it.

Suzaku recalled with some guilt that he had been the driving force in the Zero Requiem and knew that it was because of it Kallen hated him. He could very well understand her feelings. He had hated Lelouch with a passion indescribable when he found out about his role in Euphie's death. In some ways, during that battle he had seen the hidden pain between Kallen and Lelouch as revenge for the pain he had suffered. Lelouch had never told him anything when it comes to romance but that he refused to include her in the Zero Requiem, she who had so willing followed him, she would have followed him to hell itself spoke the unheard words of affection.

Now he could only recall those moments with guilt which was why he had accepted the insults and hateful gaze of the crimson-stress knight. However, he hoped she would move on as Lelouch had wanted. The pain was tearing her apart. He did not hold any romantic feelings for her despite the rumours between Zero and his most "loyal" knight (only Euphie had his heart) but he did care for her as a friend even if it had been a rocky one. Suzaku had been relieved when he saw Kallen with Gino at the New Ashford during his visit on its opening. Gino's attraction to Kallen was obvious to everyone and he hoped she would return the feelings not just for the sake of the Knight of Three but for her own peace as well.

But right now, there was no time for such thinking. Nunnally's life was threatened and Suzaku had sworn to Lelouch to be her personal Knight and Guardian throughout his entire life.

"Lord Guilford, focus all attacks on the Gejun disturbers. Make sure they are destroyed as soon as possible. Otherwise, our Knightmares would be rendered useless here. Don't worry about us. The Empress is being sent to the refuge."

_"Understood."_

"Zero," Nornette said. "We have seen reports on enemy units heading this way."

Damn. This fast? "Alright, have squads on all exits around here. We've got to protect Her Majesty at all costs."

"Zero…" Nunnally looked up to him from her hover chair. "Please be careful. If it means to save all of your lives, I'll gladly give myself…"

"Don't worry your highness." He injected and with a whisper he injected. "I promise your brother I'll keep you safe, even it means my death. The future of this world depends on it."

"But I made a mess." She whispered. "The civil war…"

"Only you can bring an end to it." Zero replied firmly. "I am just a symbol. The future is in your hands…"

* * *

"_I created and destroyed both worlds..." A young man with black-raven hair muttered. His gaze was set over a large school in the United States of Japan, its inhabitants happily forgotten by the world around them. A smile crossed his features._

_Then he frowned. "And now I must maintain it..."_

_A dark figure appeared behind him with features strikingly similar to his own. The same look, the same face...as if it was his own shadow. He turned, facing the newcomer._

"_I, Lelouch Vi Britannia command you..."_

_His eyes flared red with __the avian symbol._

"Red Knight!"

Arthur Peregrine blinked. Suddenly he found himself panting. He was sweating as well: he could feel the moisture on his uniform. He was back in the cockpit of his new Vincent flying in the night skies. What happened? How did he get here?

And then slowly the memories returned to him. After killing the noble, Arthur had rushed back to the base and fortunately Anduin had everything prepared for him so he suited up and led the Arfon Knights to New Pendragon. Knowing that the warning was already too late, the Grand Master assembled the entire Order to move in to the capital. While no one doubts their courage and Zero's ability to defend the queen, those soldiers had no idea who they were up against.

But then what was that he saw just now? He didn't remember falling asleep on the way nor did he remember such an incident from the past. Was that Lelouch he saw?

"Red Knight, are you alright? Please respond. Over." The voice repeated.

"I'm fine." He replied. Now was not the time to think of such things. The war comes first. "All units keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Report once sighted."

"Yes, milord!"

Arthur closed all channels but one. "Anduin, send me the data Lloyd has on the enemy Knightmares."

"Aye, sir. Transmitting."

Arthur brushed a strand of the fake white hair from his face as he waited. They had reached the city now as the aerial-battle became very clear on his video screens. He was zooming into to one of the invading Knightmares when he realised they were new models. They were midnight blue with silver trimmings and features similar to the Gareth only much smaller and much more sleek and lithe. Its head was much like that of the Vincent Ward except for the horns and the crimson visor where two crimson orbs glowed. They reminded him of those rangers in those fantasy top board games. Quick, dark and deadly. He scanned it using the data the developer of the Lancelot sent.

As the data appeared on the corner of his screen, Arthur saw half a dozen of Imperial Guard Vincent Wards led by one of their Commander Type models engage a trio of the sleek Knightmares in question. They surrounded their outnumbered foes and attacked from different sides firing their rifles as they go.

The trio looked up, their ruby orbs glaring at the Guard Knightmares. With the sound of their thrusters roaring akin to a battle cry, they charged. They avoided the gun fire with practice ease. The two on the flanks then broke out of their formation, each going to different directions. The Imperial Wards broke off with a pair following each while the last pair and the Vincent commander charged their leader in the centre.

The foremost Vincent Ward took aim of his rifle and was about to fire when the unknown Knightmare fired one of its slash harkens from its arms. Due to the sudden atck, the Knightmare pilot used his rifle as a makeshift shield but as it contacted his weapon, the harken pierced _through_ the rifle and appeared on the other side. As the harken appeared on the other end, the pilot saw its head was a drill and it struck Vincent Ward's shoulder taking its entire arm off. Before he knew it, a second harken fired striking its chest which drilled its way through the chest plate and…into the pilot's own killing him instantly.

As the Ward exploded, the dark Knightmare turned to the second Ward firing its chest mount machine guns. Still stunned from the destruction of its companion, the pilot easily fell to the volley of sabot rounds.

Their commander poised to avenge the death of his comrades unleashed a volley of his own. The unknown Knightmare evaded the attacks and charged at the Vincent. The commander fired his slash harkens as well mixing them with his sabot barrage. The dark Knightmare avoid the rounds easily then drew out what looked a blur of crimson which turned out to be an MVS blade. However, instead of the double-blade lance or the long sword type many of the pilots were used to, this one was a curved blade like that of a scimitar or a light cavalry sabre.

With the new blades, the Vincent's adversary sliced through the slash harkens as easy as knife through butter. The Vincent held its other arm's needle blazer and charged but before it could make contact, a crimson blade slashed through the wrist. Using its other blade, the dark Knightmare ran it through the chest, the curve edge appearing out of the cockpit's tip.

_So these are their main battle units__? Interesting. They're of mixed design._ Arthur thought reading the data. On another screen, another dark Knightmares sliced an Imperial Vincent Ward in half with a single stroke with its curve sword, sending the exploding debris down the city.

**Series: GX-23**

**Code Name**: _Viper_

**General characteristics **

**-****Height:** 4.45 meters

**-****Weight:** 6.90 metric tones

**-****Power Source:** Yggdrasil Drive, Energy Filler

**Design Features**

-Cockpit Ejection System

-Factsphere sensor

-Landspinner propulsion system

-Optional Float System

**Armament**

-2x Maser Vibration Sword (MVS) Scimitar type

-2x Drill Slash Harken

-2x Chest Mount machine guns

"Right. Brother-Captain Dunford, take half our forces and engage the enemy Knightmares. The rest of you follow me."

"But Arthur, the Grand Master and the rest of the Order haven't arrived yet." Harry Dunford said.

"I've already sent a message to him. Hurry. Move into Sector B 4. Spread yourselves up."

"Yes." The captain saluted.

"The rest of you follow me!"

They accelerated forward into the centre of the battle. The first of the enemy Knightmares took notice of them and open fired.

"Take evasive actions!" Arthur roared and they scattered. The Arfon Vincent Wards and Gareths returned fire and they had joined the battle.

Arthur charged through the clouds of duelling Knightmares. Taking advantage of his lighter armour, he flew out of formation towards through two of these Vipers before they could react and fired both of his slash harkens. The attack would serve to test these Knightmare's reflexes and see if calculations were correct.

One of the projectiles took the first sleek Knightmare by surprise and struck it hard on its chest, damaging the chest mount machine guns and driving it back.

The second one however evaded the attack and fired its Assault rifle. Arthur evaded the volley of bullets with ease and pulled his thrusters to the maximum arming his needle blazer and discharged it at the Viper's chest. The Blazer knocked the Viper's rifle out and took the full blast. It exploded like any other Knightmare and Arthur felt heartened by it. They could be defeated.

Two more Vipers engaged him, firing their arm mount Drill Slash Harkens. Had his Vincent had not been modified; he would have been skewered where he stood. But using the speed he had now, he managed to dodge all four projectiles with ease. Arthur then brought his rifle to shoot down the Vipers.

The rounds managed to strike one of them but the second one evaded the barrage and charge forward with his scimitar.

The shape of the blade made its swing much faster and Arthur barely dodged the attack. Withdrawing his rifle, the knight pulled out his double bladed lances from his back and hit his thrusters, locking the blades as he went. Brandishing the blades in the air as they turn crimson, Arthur met the curved sword with his double-blades in a shower of sparks. The Viper then fired its right drill slash harken point blank range so quickly that its drill head cut through the Vincent's right shoulder tip. Due to his lighter armour, the shoulder tip the drill pierced it like knife through butter. Arthur gritted his teeth as the impact forced him back. The Viper then took the advantage and slashed again but Arthur blocked the attack with his rear blade. Bringing the first blade, he slashed forward. The sleek Knightmare dodged the blow and fired both hand mounted harkens. But Arthur was better prepared.

Pulling his weapon before him out before him, Arthur spin it rapidly, a deadly windmill of MVS blades. The slash harkens were easily severed as they met the blades and Arthur then hit his thrusters to the maximum charging forward. Before the Viper pilot could respond, the crimson and silver Knightmare lunged and slashed, the rear blade slicing down the Viper's right shoulder to its left torso. The powerful thrusters that Cecile had done for him worked perfectly with his lighter armour that he appeared nothing more than a flash.

_**"**__**Flash"**_, a voice echoed in his head.

_Suddenly before his eyes, stood not the grim aerial battlefield but a massive funeral.__ Before him stood a young boy barely ten crying bitterly. In front of the boy, a Palace Guard stood announcing to the mass mourners._

_**"**__**The Empire mourns as Imperial Consort Lady Marianne the Flash former Knight of One fell to a terrorist attack on the Imperial Villa…"**_

"Arthur, watch out!" Anduin's voice roared, smacking him back to reality. He saw the Viper with a dented chest charging at him, sword raised high.

Then suddenly a slash harken shot out and strike the Viper's sword arm, knocking the blade out. Arthur took the initiative and fired both slash harkens at the dark Knightmare's chest and finished the Viper off.

"It's not like you to doze off like that!" Anduin chided. "What were you thinking?" The blond knight's Gareth turned to a charging group of Vipers and turned on his targeting computer. Quickly he took a lock on each Knightmare and unleashed a barrage of missiles from the Gareth's various missile launchers. The projectiles struck them with deadly accuracy causing the sky to shower metals.

"Luckily, our Knightmares aren't outclassed. Yet."

"Yet." Arthur agreed grimly. He pressed his fingers to his temple. What was happening to him? A funeral for his lord's mother? Why was he seeing that?

Whatever he was about to think was cut off when Harry Dunford's voice broke in. The bronze skinned knight's grim face told him the urgency of the report.

"Sir Arthur! Unknown unit at sector five. It just wiped out two Imperial squadrons in a second and took down Sir Melphis's unit. It's…It's a Siegfried!"

"A Siegfried?" Anduin's voice was shaken. "Here?"

"Three Siegfrieds." Arthur corrected as he picked up two other identical energy signatures on his map. "Spread out in different points. It means there are high ranking cultists here."

Arthur remembered that there were only two individuals he knew who had piloted these fearsome machines, one was V.V. Lelouch's bastard uncle and Jeremiah Gottwald. With the former dead and the latter having sworn an oath of undying loyalty to the Vi Britannia family, it leaves the pilots of these KGFs unknown.

The knight watched grimly as he saw the dark spinning shape a few klicks from his position easily breaking the Imperial formations leaving a long trail of orange fire balls and raining metal.

_Using the Vipers to distract the enemy then use__ the Siegfried to finish it off. Good tactics but far too obvious. And now that I know what you are capable of…victory is ours._

A grim smile formed on his lips. "Harry, execute Formation Delta. Force the Vipers in your area to cluster at sector B-2. Once you're done, keep them there but you will come here." He switched channels.

"Sword-1, fire 30 degrees to your left." A few seconds later he switched to another unit. "Ram leader, launch your missiles 30 degrees to the edge of the Eastern Tower. Sword-5 in twenty seconds fire your slash harkens 20 degrees above you."

'Sword 1' Arfon Vincent obeyed and unleashed a machine gun barrage at a seemingly nothing when a hapless Viper suddenly rammed into the rain of deadly sabot rounds ripping it to shreds.

At the same time, missiles from the Ram Squadron's Gareths were discharged and like eagles scooping on its prey flew to the tower…to where the Viper had exploded. The missiles then suddenly went pass the smoking debris of the fallen Knightmare…and raining down on an entire unit of Vipers trying to flank a surrounded Logres-battle ship. Seeing missiles appearing out of the smoke so suddenly, their reactions were not fast enough and were blown to dust.

A sole Viper escaped the barrage and charged forward when a pair of slash harkens shot out from below striking its cockpit system, killing the pilot.

"Wow that got their attention." Anduin muttered as a number of Vipers started for their positions. "And how about that Sie-"

He never got any further than that as the crimson-silver customised Vincent hit its thrusters of its Float System and accelerated forward into the mass.

"Damn, Arthur what are you doing?!" He started to follow when Arthur replied.

"Stay with the Ram Squadron. Wait for my signal." Then he broke contact again.

Arthur ignored the cursing protest of his comrade and focused on his flight path. Straight into the cloud of Vipers, brandishing their weapons waiting for him like a pack of snakes they were named after. It was a menacing sight that could despair many.

And yet the crimson-silver Knightmare did not slow down. Raising his double-bladed lances in his right hand, Arthur roared as he charged.

The first Viper raised his sword to meet him and they contacted in a shower of sparks. The crimson-silver Vincent did not turn back and flew pass the pair behind him leaving the same display of sparks until Arthur had just run through the entire group and burst out on the rear of the Knightmares.

Before anyone else could make a move, all the Vipers in the centre of the formation suddenly exploded from what now appeared to be slashing marks on the Knightmares' armour….

Arthur smiled. His new Knightmare's adjustments suited him well. Other than the lighter armour and the newly perfected Aerial System that he had asked the former Camelot Scientists to temporally make, he had also asked them to have his MVS blades replaced with a more potent version. It was a prototype but he had convinced them to add them to his arsenal.

Together, he had made use of the combination of speed so well that the Vipers had not realised they were cut down until it was too late. More than a dozen Vipers fell burning from the skies. Their companions realising what happened wheeled about.

"Now." Then a volley of Hadron beams shot out from different directions, decimating the wheeling Vipers. With the survivors in disarray, Arthur charged down. He swept pass the first pair, slicing the torso of the first and beheading the second with his rear blade. As they exploded, the crimson and silver Knightmare continued its charge, ramming its needle-blazer into the next Viper in line, blasting its entire chest to dust. Arthur then turned spinning, and used his double-sword to cut down another one, the blood-red MVS blades slicing through both armour and human flesh.

Anduin's Gareth appeared on his screens, unleashing another Hadron beam from the Gareth's arm mounted cannon. He took a slight cut on the chest from a lunging Viper but a volley of the Knightmare's numerous Slash Harkens took it down easily.

While Arthur cut a clear space on his side, Anduin did the same on his, taking down enemies as much if not more than he was and Lelouch's knight knew why. Anduin was a marksman first and foremost. He was a fair close combatant but years of training as a Special Forces sniper had made him an extremely dangerous opponent in a fire fight with skills matching the Knights of the Round.

The Gareth suited the blond knight well, with its role a more of a heavy supporting role rather than an all purpose Knightmare like the Vincent Ward.

Then a new unit of Vipers surrounded the Gareth hoping to take advantage of its lack of melee weapon. It was a big mistake.

Using his targeting computer, Anduin locked on to each Viper expertly avoiding their machine gun volleys, swings and thrusts. Once it was done, the Britannian knight unleashed his wrath.

Simultaneously, the missile launchers, chest mount machine guns and arm mount Hadron cannons fired. The explosive projectiles swept forward together like locus flying alongside the sabot rounds and the two crimson-black beams. They struck their targets with deadly accuracy, an impossible accuracy. Not a single attack missed and it was a devastating effect.

Before the Gareth was a massive explosion, as if someone had fired the FLEIA, illuminating the gold trimming on the grey Knightmare.

"Now that's how you make fire works." Anduin remarked. And Arthur smiled both at the humour and what happened. The Viper Squadron was completely decimated. Now for his next plan.

* * *

"My god." Alleria watched in awe as these 'irregulars' decimated a full squadron with only a handful of Knightmares. "So those stories were really true."

"_Knight of Five._" A monotonous voice called from an unknown channel. It was unrecognisable likely due to a voice changer but its tone held great authority.

"Yes?"

_"Spread__ out your forces in Sector 1 along the flanks. Make sure there is nothing but the enemy in the centre."_

"But if we do that they'll just smash through our lines with those Siegfrieds!"

_"Do it if you want those Siegfrieds destroyed."_ With that he broke off contact.

Alleria cursed. What he had ordered made no sense. Was he part of those invaders trying to pull off as this mysterious knight who is trying to be another Zero?

The downing of one of their _Logres_ Aerial Cruiser told her how there were fairing in battle. Alleria knew that the Imperial Guard could defeat the enemy Knightmares but the constantly sweeping Siegfrieds made it impossible. And the disabled Knightmares of the Royal Guard did nothing to help it. She could either continue fight a hopeless battle or leave their fates into the hands of a stranger.

The Knight of Five shrugged. It wasn't much of a choice.

"All units pull back along the flanks." No sooner than they did, a horrifying spinning figure appeared in the screen, eager to smash them apart.

Alleria hoped she had not made a mistake.

* * *

**Well, at this point, I have no idea how I've done. So I'll leave the decision to you. All I can say is Read & Review! As always I accept any critic as long as they're done _politely_. **


	13. Chapter 12: When Fates Converge

**It's finally here! Sorry for the suspense! This is the longest chapter I've written yet, over 10,000 words. I really hope it would come up to your expectation. I'm also sorry for the sneakpeak on chapter 11. It's not going to follow it but instead something else would happen. It took me months to do this. Well, guys enjoy! Read & Review!**

"Here it comes." Anduin muttered. "Let's hope we fair better than Fafnir did."

Arthur hoped so too. The _Siegfried_ was just as terrifying as the battle reports had claimed. It was enormous, dwarfing its escorting _Vipers_. Its armament consists of a set of Slash Harkens, which consist of the five conical structures on its frame and two ordinary versions mounted on the front, and generators which can electrify the hull to keep enemies at bay. Using the conical Lance-Slash Harkens, it could perform a devastating attack in which it spins like a top and obliterates anything in its path. It was practically a giant flying wrecking ball with its tough construction and energy shields make it incredibly durable. Arthur remembered that it manages to survive having a building dropped on it without taking even cosmetic damage. The _Siegfried_ could also spin rapidly to generate an electromagnetic shield to block most bombardments.

The sphere like monstrosity descended on them like a flying cannon ball, picking up speed as it did then began to spin. The Imperial Guard obeying their commander's orders fell back without a fight allowing the Siegfried into their centre where it could easily smash their entire formation apart.

As it neared, Arthur charged forward firing his machine gun at it. The bullets pathetically bounced off its hard hide but it managed to catch the _Siegfried_'s attention which was all the knight was counting on. Its thrusters screaming akin to a roar, the Knight Giga Fortress turned to the customised _Vincent_. Arthur also fired his own boosters on his Aerial system and flew out of its path, the spinning _Siegfried_ almost catching him with its spinning blades.

"Arthur!" Anduin shouted, opening the cannon on his right arm. The Hadron beam lanced towards the KGF. But the beam dispersed on the electromagnetic shield as if it was water.

"Stay clear of it!" Arthur snapped at the other knight as he fired a second volley at the _Siegfried_. _'Damn, this thing's fast.'_

However, the _Siegfried_ had other things in mind and ignored the red knight's attacks and turned to the Imperial fleet.

"Damn it, follow me!" Arthur gritted his teeth and fired at one of the _Vipers_ near the _Siegfried_, firing precisely at its float system's right wing. The Knightmare lost balance and fell straight into the spinning path. The blades ripped it shreds of metal and fire.

That seemed to catch its attention as it wheeled about.

Arthur's alarm system suddenly rang as a _Viper_ suddenly charged at him from behind, wielding a blade. He grabbed its wrist and twisted himself around and stabbed the _Viper_'s back with his rear lance. Then he used the _Viper_'s momentum and flung it towards the charging _Siegfried_'s path.

The _Viper_'s explosion did nothing to dent the electromagnetic armour and Arthur was forced to pull himself out of the way lest he be crushed as well. He continued to harass it firing his machine gun knowing all too well the results. His thrusters burst to the maximum as he fired, staying out of the KGF's reach.

While he did, Arthur looked down on the surface of the Palace. The entire court yard was filled with lights, showing signs of battle but most of them were infantrymen and knew that the attackers had somehow disabled their Knightmares. But they'll do.

He flipped a channel.

Arthur turned to dodge a slash harken that would have skewered him. He flew pass the battle on the ground using his IFF signal to give the Guardsmen a breather.

* * *

Guilford sat with his rifle against his shoulder and body braced against the mountain of rubble made by an explosion protecting him from the stream of bullets that saw down from above. The Guardsmen under him huddled in the rubbles with him each one still looking worst to wear but still alive. Guilford saw that the earlier Knightmare assault was a distraction so they could send in their soldiers down and now the entire palace had turned into a grim battlefield between the Royal Guard and the Assassins.

But what the assassins looked like was hard to say. Sometimes they're fighting soldiers disguised in the grey and crimson of the Guard and at others they seemed to be engaging their own shadows. That they were using Knightmares that had Gejun deflectors was the main problem and Guilford had to restrain a laugh at how ironic the situation was for him. Years ago, as the Spearhead of the Empire, he had led the armies of Britannia into battle riding Knightmares against a lesser foe. Well, it must be karma!

Another volley of lead struck the rubble, sending splintering pieces of rocks against his face. The royal knight gritted his teeth and was about to pulled his rifle out and fire back when it suddenly rained gunfire just beyond their position.

Two enemy Knightmares stood guard surrounded by squads of assassins engaging another unit of Royal Guards in a deadly fire fight with the Guards in the worse part of it. An enemy soldier fell to the ground in a haze of blood as one of their snipers under cover of some debris pulled a round into his head. A second fell, clutching his neck as blood sprayed out of it. Before a third shot could be done, one of the behemoth took notice and fired a burst of rounds from its chest machine guns. The rounds were Knightmare sized and they ripped the man and his cover into bloody shreds.

"_We've got them, sir!"_ One of his men shouted to Guilford as he readied himself for their counter attack. The squad's missile launchers were still smoking from their recent fire that had dropped several enemy Knightmares. It had brought heart back to the men and the knight had divided his forces into three groups: one armed with missile launchers stationed on various high positions where the gun emplacements were to take down enemy Knightmares, the second sent out to help clear the other areas while the third, the largest was under Guilford himself to destroy the generators.

Not willing to lose the chance to attack, Guilford bellowed a charge and the Guardsmen ran out, firing as they go. The other units must have arrived. He saw several more soldiers coming from the side. Guilford saw a shadowy figure aiming a rifle at him but the knight managed to fire first forcing it back to its hiding place.

Then before he knew it, Guilford's squad was surrounded by a hundred rifles all pointing at them some were on the windows while others on the ground. Most of them wore body armour similar to the Britannians save for their helmets which covered their faces, some of them wore a massive black cloak with a hood that only revealed two crimson with a bird symbol eyes. He suspected they were their officers.

Then those new soldiers turned their rifles on them as well, their eyes crimson under the shako. Damn, it was a trap. These men were part of the assassins.

Guilford readied his weapon preparing to die to the end.

Just then a huge shadow fell before them and a massive volley of sabot rounds rained down on buildings at the entrenched troops, the massive rounds ripping men to pieces in single shots. Guilford twisted away from the assassin's line of fire and let unleashed his own barrage followed by his men. They dance in the gunfire and Guilford stared at them with coldly remembering the deaths of so many of his men at their hands.

One of the crimson eyed shadows managed to escape the deadly stream of gunfire and leapt forward, his eyes glowing and disappeared before appearing again on his left. Guilford was a fully trained knight verse in many arts including swordsmanship and sensing an attack, he unsheathed his sabre automatically blocking a dagger swing.

The assassin's eyes unnerved him and it took all he had not to stare back in his adversary's eyes. They traded blows and Guilford saw how dangerous his opponent was. He blocked a second attack and thrust. The tip of the blade missed him by inches and Guilford just only managed to block a knee thrust. The blow was hard as it contacted his left elbow and the knight swung his sword and again it was deflected.

Then suddenly the sky rained more sabot rounds down on the shadow which it move away to dodge the steam of bullets and disappeared.

As he stopped to catch his breath, Guilford saw a familiar silver and crimson _Vincent_ flying pass and knew who had saved him.

"_Lord Guilford..."_ The same voice from New England appeared. And before he could thank him, it spoke again.

"_Fight your way to Sector 235. Wait for __**my**__ signal."_

Before he could respond, the voice was gone...again.

* * *

Meanwhile, the battle in the Palace becomes more intense. A unit of Royal Guardsmen defended a hasty made barricade in the area's ball room. The room once filled with lights and decorations was now just like another battlefield with rubbles, the bodies of soldiers and the sound of gunfire. The Guard Justicar had brought up a light machine gun, the RGLMG20 and they were making good use of it to hold off the attacks. It was one of the most unnerving battles he had been in. With the power cut (the officer had no idea how that was even possible with all the precautions and secondary powers), the automatic defences were rendered useless. Thus it was up to old shot and shell.

The enemy was unlike any other foe it wasn't their fighting skills that frightened him. It was that no matter how many times they shot or thought to have killed the shadowy figures, they could never see the bodies even with the Shock Troopers' inferred goggles. Sometimes they would see other soldiers armed and armoured like their shock troops and they were pretty much human as the commander saw them bleed and die like any man...but those shadow things, he didn't know what to say except that they needed to die.

The guardsman beside him gave a short cry as his head exploded into a mist of blood.

"Hold the line! Pour in everything you got!" The commander bellowed and turned his pistol to return fire. One figure dropped with a spark as the bullet contacted the metallic helmet.

The machine gun crew unleashed a lethal barrage spraying rounds left and right. Clouds of dust and rabble appeared where the rounds struck marble, wood and metal. He saw two clouds of blood droplets spraying in the mist and saw that it was taking affect. Two soldiers with the crimson eyes appeared from one side with firing their rifles wildly. The light machine gun traverse to the new target and ended it with a dozen holes in his chest.

A grenade exploded near their make shift barricade and a small piece of rock bounced off the commander's shoulder plate. One of the Guardsmen threw a return grenade at the same direction and he heard a satisfying bang followed by a scream. Now to push back.

"You two, get over there!" The Justicar gestured to a marble table a few yards ahead of them. The two guardsmen nodded and trained their weapons before them and walked their machine gun rounds towards the enemy pinning them down with suppressing fire. The foremost one jumped to the table and turned it over with his rifle butt in the crossfire then started firing a covering fire for his comrade. The other Guardsman threw a grenade down and dropped to the ground. As he did, he lowered the visor on his helmet.

There was a massive flash and they heard someone stumbling back. The two armoured soldiers then stood up firing. The Guard commander bellowed a charge. The other Guardsmen turned up shooting at anything that moved in the shadow.

The commander emptied a round into the face of an assassin who tried to shoot him and fired at another on his left.

They were the Royal Guard! They were the best amongst the Imperial Guard and were selected careful to protect the Empress.

"Don't let them up!" He bellowed. One of the first pair of Guardsmen smashed his rifle butt into one and fired in full automatic at a cluster of them. A second dark armoured figure appeared and stabbed his dagger into the Guardsman's neck. Fortunately, the constant movement of the soldier made the blow falling on the chest where it buried on the breastplate. A red dot appeared on the assassin's forehead and then burst into a mist of blood. The Guardsman pushed the lifeless body back and saw his commander with a smoking pistol. Nodding his thanks, the soldier continued his fighting to the door which is scanned.

"Clear!" The soldier shouted through all channels.

The Justicar panted as he made his way through the enemy barricade. They clustered around the lifeless bodies of the enemy soldiers.

"We've got them all sir." One of his Guard officers said, putting a new clip into his pistol then pulled his sabre out of a body beside him. However, they were only those of the basic troops. How about those shadowy things with red eyes? He started to turn around and suddenly realised that it was all a trap.

A gasp came in front of him and the officer he was talking to fell to the ground, a dagger appearing on his head. A shadowy figure appeared and flung two blades at him and the soldier beside. The blade struck his shoulder and he shouted in pain. The other soldiers turned and train their guns on the shadow only for his attacker to disappear.

"Where is he? Sir, are you alright?" His Captain arrived at his side.

"Just get it out!" He gritted his teeth and turned to the Guardsman who also got struck down. Unfortunately, the dagger struck home, right on the heart. The Justicar cursed. Another letter to write once this was over…assuming they survive.

"Agrah!" He roared as the dagger came free. The Captain tossed the accursed thing away and ripped the tail of his crimson coat and started to bandage the wound.

Then they heard something clanking. As one their weapons were trained at the door way. The clanking became louder and louder. They tensed, backing away it slowly. There was no doubt of it.

Finally, one of the soldiers took a step forward and fired a few rounds. The bullets vanished into the darkness. But nothing else happened.

The soldier dared to take a closer step then suddenly froze. He just stood there, unmoving. The rest of the Guardsmen looked at each other in puzzlement.

"Guardsman?" He asked but as he did, a short hiss suddenly rang in his ear.

Then the soldier suddenly turned, his rifle pointing at _them._ An inch of fire opened up as a volley of super-sonic rounds tore through the unexpected Guardsmen. There was no time for any of them to react and the volley took down half of their squad. At such a close range, even the Shock Troopers' armour was render useless.

However, the Justicar noticed something about the soldier...his eyes. They had crimson rings around them. Not just that, his face showed only horror as if he had no control over his body. Before he could say anything else, a single pistol shot boomed near him and the Guardsman fell back with a bloody hole on his forehead.

"Bloody traitor." The Captain muttered. The Justicar wasn't sure if his subordinate's words were correct but before he could try to do anything a cry behind him forced the guard officer to turn. He saw the machine gunner grunting.

"Corporal! Are you alright?" The Justicar shouted. Then he heard the same hiss again. The Guardsman looked up and saw his eyes trimming with crimson rings. This time the hiss formed into words.

"_**Fire."**_

In a bitter twist of irony, the RGL20 that had been protecting this section of the palace became their undoing. The Justicar was struck down early, the bullets tearing his chest apart but unable to give him the peace of death falling on his back and forced to stare at the formerly decorated ceiling which was now utterly ruined. It was forced to hear the screams of pain of his subordinates. His captain was more fortunate and died at once with his head vaporised but far too many shots. The screams lasted cruelly lasted for about ten seconds or so and then died down. The wounded officer heard footsteps walking towards him and the sound of blade scrapping flesh or single gun shots went around him.

Finally, he heard someone stopping beside him and saw the Guard machine gunner aiming a pistol at him. His eyes had crimson rings but his face was however showed only of fear and horror.

"I'm...sorry, sir." He managed. "I can't control...my body...It feels...as if...controlled...like puppet..."

Beside the crimson-uniformed soldier, two shadowy figures appeared. Their eyes had a glowing crimson bird like symbol on them. They stared at him with those eyes, as if mocking him.

"Go...to...hell..." The Justicar said, defiantly, the pain causing him to pause between his breathing.

"Strong of will this one. Zero picked the guards well..." A smooth yet unidentified voice spoke.

A fourth figure joined them; this one much more cloaked then the other two and wore a clothed helmet instead of hoods. There were gold trims at the edges of his cloak and wore a more elaborated purple uniform underneath. His eyes were deep imperial violet, beautiful yet held some kind of malice that made the guard officer shudder in fear.

"Kill him and take care of the rest." He said and left, leaving the Justicar at the hands of the two shadowy figures.

The soldier looked like he was trying a titanic struggle as his pistol hand unwillingly turned and pointed at the officer.

Before the merciful darkness descended, the Justicar saw a flash of a man with a long duster with a half orange mask behind the shadows...

Under the sound of the pistol, a dagger flashed and flew straight towards the pair of shadows. One of them turned and parried the spinning blade quickly; the dagger struck the concrete wall with a clank.

Then suddenly, from the darkness a tall muscular figure with his duster fluttering appeared and delivered a punch at the shadowy assassin. The attack came within a short second of the dagger throw and the blow landed solidly on the assassin's face with a satisfying crunch. His companion, eyes widened in surprise as if not believing that the blow had taken place, then recovered and slashed at his arm.

But the weapon bounced back as if striking metal instead of flesh. The figure grinned and shoved the shadow off and punched forward with his other arm.

He dodged the attack and fell back to join his companion and their bird-symbol eyes glared at their new foe.

The figure straightened and stepped into the moonlight. He was of middle age with green-blue hair and a half-orange metallic mask. He was a Britannian knight that was for certain, dressed in white and violet uniform underneath over a duster of white and light purple...or rather looked like one. But it is hard to know whether he was even _human_...for on his right hand was a golden blade jutting out from his wrist.

"Know that you face Jeremiah Gottwald." The man declared.

The two shadows glared at him with their glowing crimson eyes and gestured. At once, half a dozen or so soldiers dressed in dark purple and black mixed with the crimson and white of the Royal Guardsmen with glowing crimson rings in their eyes training their rifles at Jeremiah.

As they fired their rifles at him, a second blade drew out from Jeremiah's left hand and he charged towards them into the gun fire. He seemed to dodge the bullets at ease and even if they struck, they landed in sparks on his chest.

All of a sudden, two spinning blades split through the air beside the charging Jeremiah and sliced through the necks of two of the invaders. They fell down, clutching their bloodied necks.

A third turned and pulled his rifle up, preparing to pull the trigger when he froze as a ring hinted dagger buried on his forehead, piecing through the helmet and visor. Three more daggers flew and struck down the enemy in amazing accuracy.

And the clearing was all what Jeremiah needed. He ran pass a pair of them his blades slashing forward, slicing their chests and torso. He swung one blade up, taking an arm off a possessed Guardsman and finally removing his head.

As the decapitated body fell, the room left only Jeremiah and the two shadowy commanders. They glared at the knight standing before them and charged with their blades.

Jeremiah grinned and blocked the series of attacks with amazing reflexes. He blocked a claw with his left hand and countered with a swing which the shadow figure avoided with a step back. The second one used the distraction caused by his companion to bury the dagger into Jeremiah's back when his target suddenly shifted in an inhumanly speed and his eyes to widen in surprise as the golden blade pierce through his chest.

Jeremiah smoothly pulled out his blade allowing the blood to drip on the floor. The last assassin seeing that they were facing an enemy, who was more than a match for them, disappeared into the shadow.

At that, the knight laughed.

"Do you really think you could escape that easily?" He taunted and his masked eye opened up and a blue bird symbol appeared and shot out a beam into the darkness. (_YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THE ORANGE!_ **I'm sorry, I can't help it! :P**)

At once, a figure appeared in the shadows and before it could move a second dagger struck his head, killing him at once.

"You're getting out of practice, Lord Jeremiah." A voice commented. A tall woman with brown hair wearing a white cap approached. She was similarly dressed wearing a grey jumpsuit and white and pink coat. In her hands was a pair of kunai which turned out to be the daggers and blades thrown.

Jeremiah chuckled. "It's been a while, Sayoko. Come on, Her Majesty is probably at the refuge. We'll need to hurry."

Sayoko smiled. "It's just like old times."

"Just like old times." Jeremiah laughed and wiped the blood on his blade. "I hope we can return to the farm in time for the harvest."

* * *

**Meanwhile in the New Pendragon Airspace**

Alleria did not understand what that knight was planning but he was minimizing the Imperial casualties. And that was enough for her.

She deflected a blow from one _Viper_ with her MVS blades and replied by severing it in half. The _Vipers_ were extremely powerful Knightmares, stronger and faster than their mass-produced _Vincent Ward_s each an equal to the _Vincent_ Commander Models.

"Milady, enemy Knightmares at sector 9!" Her guard captain warned.

No sooner he spoke, a dozen or so new red dots appeared on her IFF screens arriving down her flank.

A massive volley of missiles and Hadron beams suddenly fired into the fighting, taking down several units of _Vipers_ that was trying to flank the Britannian positions. Alleria turned her Knightmare around. If the Imperial Guard was engaging the main enemy force who were these newcomers?

"_Imperial Commander! This is Lord Bernard of Bedford from the_ Dragonblade_. My forces have arrived to the palace. We have your rear. The rest are protecting the civilian areas."_

"You made it right on time, commander." Alleria answered relief plain in her voice.

"_I sent my best knights earlier. They'll make short work of the _Siegfrieds_."_

"Siegfrieds?" Alleria realised that the crimson-silver _Vincent_ that she saw earlier must have brought reinforcements along. Perhaps, the battle can be won...

Arthur gritted his teeth as he dodge another lance-slash harken from the _Siegfried_ which seemed to have focused all its attention on him. It wasn't a bad thing as it rendered the KGF from wrecking havoc on anyone else.

The _Siegfried_ fired another harken this time using it as a whip swung at the customised _Vincent_. Arthur twisted aside and the swing instead took a Viper's chest, slicing it in half. Sometimes an Imperial _Vincent Ward_ would get in the way and the price of disobeying orders was extremely severe. One was literally torn into pieces by the spinning blades.

Arthur turned to his map where the Imperial forces in the centre had fallen back; forming a crescent formation at their head was the gold and white Vincent of the Knight of Five.

It was good. He continued to fire against the _Siegfried_ which was relentless in catching his prey. Arthur had no doubt he was a high bounty for the Geass order and getting rid of him would remove a large threat. Thus their greed would be their downfall.

"Now!"

With that, three large violet missiles shot out from below and struck the _Siegfried_'s green head before the red eyes. The white flash burst before it so bright that even Arthur had to shield his own eyes. As it faded away, the _Siegfried_ appeared again as if untouched. But as it moved, the Knight Giga Fortress was shaking as if dazed. It ignored the effect and seemed to refocus on the crimson Vincent and fired a slash harken fast only it went completely wide.

Arthur grinned. The flash had damaged its sensors. It should have wiped out all of its screen and other sensors but the _Siegfried_'s tough shields and likely the new technology had saved it but it was enough. The red _Vincent_ pulled out its rifle and started firing again. The bullets scattered over the armour but otherwise did nothing much save for a few scratches. In return the _Siegfried_ fired its lance slash harkens again but they were completely off their target.

The knight commander turned his _Vincent_ and flew around in circles taunting its opponent's accuracy.

In anger, the _Siegfried_ charged forward spinning but again it was off the target. Then suddenly, Arthur charged towards the _Siegfried_ as it slowed down and delivered a kick into the head and pulled his throttle out to get out of range. Finally consumed with rage, letting go of all trace of tactics, the Siegfried charged after him. Blinded and humiliated, Arthur's enemy followed him like a determined animal after its prey.

At once, Arthur knew that the _Siegfried_ was under his control now. He was right to pick this one. It had broken from its formation, either because the pilot was extremely cocky, or some other reason he did not know nor does he care.

Now that it was Arthur also noticed that the _Vipers_ in the centre seemed to have lost the fury that they had unleashed on the Imperial Guard earlier. His calculations were correct. This _Siegfried_ was not only their trump card but also their section commander and he had let his pride wash over his fury.

"Muahahahaha...this is perfect! So perfect..."

Thus he turned his way towards the enemy lines which seemed to wavering.

* * *

**On board the **_**Dragonblade**_

"All forces accounted for, my lord." The captain announced.

The Grand Master nodded. Fooling the Imperial forces that they were a loyalist noble's personal army had been a simple thing compare to what he was seeing now so Bernard watched the battlefield with keen interest. The two armies were battling on the flanks while a huge gap was in the centre save for a few Knightmares and one huge sphere shaped orb chasing a red light. At once, he knew what was going on and grinned. His student never ceased to surprise him.

"Shall we deploy our Knightmares, sir?" His aide asked.

"Deploy them but have them stand by around the fleet."

The officer seemed confused. "We're not lending them aid?"

"Not at the moment. Wait for the signal from Sir Peregrine."

"Yes, milord."

Bernard watched as one gold and white _Vincent_ skilfully fighting two pairs of the Directorate _Vipers_ alone at ease. A Knight of the Rounds. There was no doubt of that. The Empress had chosen her royal knights well. It seemed like back in the old days. On another screen, a crimson-silver _Vincent_ with a different Float System flew around in different directions engaging the dreaded KMF, _Siegfried_. It was clear to anyone that how foolish it would be to engage a Knight Giga Fortress with a simple 7th Generation Knightmare. However, the young knight in red seemed to be proving that theory wrong.

"Impressed with your new squire, Bedivere?" A smooth female voice spoke softly to him in a different tongue.

"Indeed." He replied in the same language. "I can finally see why you chose him. He is...interesting. Much like someone I knew. Does he know of his true role in the future?"

"Of course not. He doesn't even remember his past."

"No. I mean when he was..."

"Oh." The figure shook her head. "He has no idea."

"Good...then let our prince get his prize." Bedivere 'Bernard' watched as the crimson and silver _Vincent_ suddenly changed its course.

* * *

**Meanwhile back in the Palace interior**

Two figures appeared from the darkness and leapt on the Empress' escort. The first figure flung a dagger striking a Guardsman in the throat. The other one charged at a pair of Guards wielding pole-rifles. One of the Guards thrust his spear which was parried and brought his weapon up to block an upcoming blow but it shattered from the impact by a gauntlet wielding dagger with the blade burying itself on his forehead. The second soldier threw his pole arm down in favour of a sabre and they traded blows.

"Take the Empress!" Zero shouted to Nornette. The Knight of Four stormed off with Nunnally without argument with the other Guardsmen to the refuge. A gunshot took a Guardsman's head right in the back despite the helmet and the soldier's brains exploded behind his head. A volley of automatic fire followed and his eyes flared with crimson rings as he involuntarily jumped up narrowly avoiding the getting hit. Instead they sheared through a richly decorated arm chair.

The assassins' leaders wore hooded black cloaks and violet uniforms underneath. Their arms were covered with steel gauntlets with sharp claws wielding thick looking daggers already bloodied. Behind them were more soldiers also clad in black armour and crimson goggles armed the same way as the Britannian infantry.

But whatever they looked like nothing else startled Zero more than the eyes of their leaders. They were red...red with the symbol of Geass!

The shadow figures gestured and the soldiers open fired. Suzaku's eyes flared crimson. The dark knight's cape fluttered like a startled raven and charged forward in the brink of an eye, running in zigzags. Despite the massive amount of gun fire, none of the rounds seemed to hit him; the speed of the helmed knight was even faster than a bullet.

If the enemy was surprised, they did show it as Suzaku leapt out twisting himself into his infamous spinning roundhouse kick. The two shadow figures disappeared into the darkness avoiding the blow but their followers did not escape it and the kick struck them hard tossing half a dozen of them like toy soldiers sending them all flying. Several struck the wall and lay them unmoving.

One of them dropped his firearm and pulled out a pistol and aimed for Suzaku. The second Zero just let the bullet pass him as it flew and hit a second soldier trying to knife him; Suzaku then grabbed the soldier's knife and flung it at the gunner's neck. A high-powered rifle shot almost struck him as he heard the sound. The Japanese knight gritted his teeth as he threw a lunging soldier into his companions. Snipers! He had to make sure they are taken out first. Using the com-link in his helmet, Suzaku gave orders to the remaining squads to protect the Empress' refuge and to look out for enemy snipers. Several units did not respond, likely wiped out but most did and acknowledged the orders.

His eyes suddenly flare again as he parried a hand wielding a dagger. He replied with punch which was effectively blocked. Suzaku jumped up suddenly missing a dagger throw and the return swing from the first, allowing his "Live on" command to take control. They were dangerous indeed! The only person to ever activate that command outside of a Knightmare had been Bismarck the decreased Knight of One and he had been lucky to survive the encounter.

As he landed gracefully, Suzaku realised the danger Nunnally was in was far greater than he thought. That the Geass order which Lelouch had destroyed would want to kill Nunnally meant that even with the full might of the Empire's finest knights protecting her would not be enough.

He heard a second shot, a loud boom of a high powered rifle enough to pierce through body armour. But it came from behind him and struck one sniper hidden from sight until now in the head.

"Zero!" Mellenia's voice shouted, wielding a Palace Guard's pole-rifles entered with Kallen who put a pistol round in another's neck. They stopped by his side pointing their weapons at the shadowy figures before them.

"Stop them. They're after the Empress! I'll hold this line." He whispered.

"Zero," Kallen whispered in Japanese so Mellenia would not hear nor understand. "They've Geass here. This is no mere assassination plot."

"I know." Suzaku replied. "That's why I need you two with Nunnally."

Kallen nodded. "Understood. Mellenia, come on!"

As they went, Mellenia teased Kallen. "Exchanging some love words? Gino would be heartbroken..."

"Shut up! It's nothing like that!" The fiery Knight snapped angrily.

At other times, Suzaku would have scoffed at how ridiculous the comment was but now he was more concerned with the shadows before him.

A third figure dressed in a more elaborate uniform than the two shadows appeared instead of a hood, he wore a clothed helmet. His eyes, though, vivid violet were however clear of Geass.

"I'll handle him. Finish what we came here to do."

"Yes, Cardinal." The shadows muttered emotionlessly and broke into a run.

"Hold it!" Suzaku leapt to cut them off, swinging at both who just disappeared into the darkness pass him. He turned to follow only to face two more of the shadows glaring at him, effectively blocking him.

"So this must be the great Zero..." He started his voice smooth and calm. Despite the hood, Suzaku could see a smirk forming. "Or should I say...the _Knight_ of Zero?"

Suzaku startled. He knew who he was!

"Who are you?" Suzaku snapped.

"Apparently," The newcomer ignored him. "You're not as good as your predecessor thought you would be. I can't believe he left the hands of his sister in your hands. Such a big mistake."

"Perhaps," Suzaku admitted. "Regardless...if you're going to take the Empress it'll be over my dead body!" With that Zero, the Knight of Justice drew out the gold and violet sword at his side and levelled it at the 'Cardinal'. Suzaku looked at the violet blade in his hands. It was the same weapon Lelouch had wielded and the same weapon that drove into his chest. It would be the same weapon to defend Nunnally.

"So be it. I've always wanted to see how fierce the White Knight of Britannia was. So let's see if you can handle the Shadow Striders." He snapped his fingers and half a dozen of those shadows appeared surrounding him, looking at his as if he was a tasty morsel.

"Kill him."

The Shadow Striders in the room leapt at him like a pack of wolves over a prey, their eyes glaring with the Geass symbol. His eyes flaring red, Suzaku grabbed the blade with both hands and swung hard. With the aid of his unnatural strength and skill plus the power of his "Live on" command, his hands pulled the bastard sword up and contacted.

As if they were dolls, the Shadow Striders were tossed away blood spraying from where the blade contacted. Then they all started to swarm the lone knight. With the speed of lightning they started attacking, launching slashes, thrusts, swings, punches and kicks. Zero however stood still and blocked every one of those attacks and counter attacking. Then without warning, he leapt forward sword gripped until his knuckles under the gloves were white and brought it down on one of the Striders, the blade sliced through the assassin's chest, tearing muscle and flesh like blood spraying at Suzaku's helmet.

He turned his blade swing along parrying a thrust at his back and twisted again knocking the dagger aside and slashed its wielder who fell back without a sound. His next opponent suddenly burst out of the darkness and swung at his neck. Suzaku brought his sword to block and countered with a slash which his opponent dodged. Another appeared delivering a spinning kick which Suzaku jumped aside and slashed as his opponent landed, slicing off his leg cleanly from the knee. The man screamed as blood poured through and he finished him off with a stab in the chest.

Suzaku hated being so violent but these were evil men who would bring chaos and destruction back to the world. And he would do anything to keep it safe. So many had died as a result, he could not allow it again!

His next attack, a downward swing was so powerful that it knocked the smaller blade flying and ran the assassin through blade piercing through his back. Suzaku slammed an elbow into the next Strider's face, a move so fast that the Japanese knight knew it was because of his Geass command. Then his 'curse' took complete control and Suzaku's hands automatically pull up to parry an upcoming blow from a dagger and he took a flip back and landed in a crouch where he thrust into the darkness. The tip of his violet sword pierced a whole in the blackness, contacting something leathery and _dripped_ blood. In a second, a figure appeared in front of him, clutching a bloody wound as it fell. Up close, Suzaku saw that man was dressed in a violet jumpsuit gold trimmed and wore a black leathery cloak around him with a black hood. His eyes, glaring with the Geass sigil dimmed as death took the man. On his hands and arms were gauntlets were knife long claws, covered with blood. At his belt was a long curved dagger sheathe. The uniform was almost a mockery of his Zero outfit.

Then Zero raised his elbow to block a flying kick aiming straight for his head. The impact was hard and it forced Suzaku a step back. He retaliated with a roundhouse kick which his opponent dodged and swung around to block an attack from behind. The Japanese knight then let the force of his opponent's blow fall causing the assassin to momentarily lose his balance and fell towards him where Suzaku landed a knee kick in the assassin's chest, breaking his ribs. The assassin staggered back clutching his chest. Suzaku finished him off with an upward slash, splitting his chest open.

"Impressive, indeed." The Cardinal admitted his voice had a grudging respect for Suzaku as the knight thrust his blade into another hooded figure.

* * *

(Somehow listening to the Song, _**Frontline**_ by Pillar helped me write this scene so its the music for this scene. I find it matches the song in a way. Not sure if it works for you guys though. :P)

The assassin centre had just been moving up to follow their vanguard to the Imperial centre when an odd sight greeted them. At first, they thought they were seeing things but as it came closer a crimson and silver Knightmare, a heavily customised Vincent model, flew towards them followed by one of their own Siegfried commanders.

Their 3rd and 4th Viper squadrons moved in at once to box the foolish knight so their commander could have the pleasure of ripping it into shreds. But as they did, the crimson Vincent's Aerial System glowed violently bright and swept pass them in a flash of light. A few Vipers exploded as the red flash pass them and they turned to either shoot or cut down the Vincent when all their warning system rang out. They turned and saw their Siegfried battering through them.

For once, the Geass order knew how it felt getting hit by one of their own behemoths and the results were devastating. Both squadrons were completely broken and more were damaged. The crimson Vincent slashed fought his way through the enemy ranks, dodging missile, gun, swords and other weaponry they threw at it with skills of a Knight of the Rounds. But as they focused on it, they were blinded to the rampaging Siegfried that battered its way through their own forces.

Their commander was no fool and ordered their forces to scatter into different points dividing their centre into several smaller groups. Then in front of one group of Vipers, a grey and gold figure appeared before them, revealing to be one of the RPI-Gareths though its markings were different, a golden dragon symbol was on each shoulder plate and its missile slots were open and armed.

Before anyone could do anything, a massive barrage of missiles, sabot rounds and Hadron beam fired turning the entire group to flame and dust.

Into another group, a duo of normal Vincent Commander Models, one white with gold trims and the other gold with white trims charged through slicing their way through with their MVS double swords. They were master swordsmen and cut and deflected their way through the Vipers like a lawn mower through grass.

For another, missiles flew from the ground and struck them down before they could move or raise their weapons. The _Vipers_ were powerful Knightmares, an equal footing to the _Vincent_ Commanders but the timing was so precise that no one could have done anything to prevent. A few escaped but they could do nothing as the crimson light caused rampage into their centre using one of their own. All communication had been cut off from the unit and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

The Shadow commander at once realised that the terrible situation they were facing. With the centre completely disarrayed, the Imperial forces started moving forward and the flanks of their army lost its support. At the same time, a series of explosions occurred in certain parts of the palace but mainly in the battle areas. There was little else he could do now. Here was conventional fighting Knightmare against Knightmare without Geass and although the Imperial forces would have the higher losses, they could not afford to lose here, not while their mission was still undone. The power they had been using was by Brother Georg who was also commanding the _Siegfried_. The Power of Absolute Confident raised the moral of their forces but unfortunately, Georg was also known to be a little bit of arrogance, likely the cause of his own Geass. Reinforcements must be prevented from reaching the palace where the infantry was fighting against the strike teams sent into the building itself. The Order had used its resources along with that of their allies to build up this powerful force but their losses were greater than estimated. He knew that while the Striders were in the Palace and the royal guards were fighting every step against them and have finally been able to inflict causalities to the Geass users. They needed more Geass here! As he said it, a crimson blur flashed across a Viper leaving only pieces of metal and flame.

It was him. That red knightmare! They needed to destroy it. Fast. With that his eyes glow crimson with the Geass sigil.

"_Bring all Siegfrieds into the centre. Push the Imperial advance. Destroy that red one!"_

"_**Yes, my lord!"**_

Arthur's _Siegfried_ had managed to scatter the entire enemy centre's formation while Anduin and the other knights took the confusion left by his wake to slaughter enemy here and there. The enemy strike force here at least numbered at least six hundred Knightmares with an unknown number of support troops but that was not unusual. The Geass order was known for its resourcefulness. All that mattered now was to defeat them here and now. The rest will come later.

Arthur closed into a duo of _Vipers_, cutting them apart with his MVS double swords and firing his machine gun into several more then flew away again, letting the rampaging Siegfried finish off the rest. Two crimson-black beams fired into another formation. Bubbles of orange fireballs flowed as the Knightmares exploded.

More Knightmares from the Imperial Guard appeared and engage the scattered _Vipers_. A _Vincent Ward_ attacked his _Viper_ opponent with its Stun Tonfa on the head going under its defences, while a second _Ward_ knocked its scimitar off with its MVS double swords. Another _Ward_ charged forward with a heavy lance finished it off, skewering with the lance tip piercing through the cockpit.

Gold _Vincents_, the Knight of Five's personal guard flew in a wedge formation spearheaded the attack. With the rear Knightmares firing their rifles and cannons, the other _Vincents_ with drawn swords and lowered lances, slicing and blasting anything in their way. A group of _Vipers_ sought to break the formation apart and flew in, guns blazing and swords rising. They were quickly defeated; two of them ran straight into a volley of sabot rounds while many of them were blasted into pieces by cannon fire. One slammed right into a pointing lance, running it through the cockpit. A second _Viper_ reached them and slashed down with its curved blade which clashed with another lance. A crimson blade swung before it could do more, slicing through its torso and exploded.

Now that the _Vipers_ had suddenly lost their will to fight, they began to fall before onslaught of the Imperial Guard.

A unit of _Gareths_ spread out in a line and unleashed a volley of black-crimson beams, bringing inferno into the _Vipers_' ranks. A whole row of _Vipers_ was wiped out in a second leaving a massive gap in side where the _Vincent Ward_s poured in.

The flanks however remained the same so Arthur presumed that they had different commanders.

Then on his screens a large energy signature dove in from the side with incredibly speed destroying anything in its path. He knew what it was straight away and flicked a few channels.

"Anduin, there's a second _Siegfried_ coming. Engage it with everything you got!"

The second _Siegfried_ entered the fray spinning like a metallic tornado, smashing anything in its way.

"Keep out of reach!" Alleria shouted, as she fired her own rifle at the spinning object. A _Gareth_ fired its missiles which only impacted on its shield before the Siegfried countered with a slash harken skewering the bulky Knightmare.

A _Vincent Ward_ armed with a heavy lance charged and flung the lance towards the _Siegfried_. The weapon struck and bounced off the blade storm. The extended harken came back around and sliced it in half. More attacks were done, each no braver than the other despite the failures seen on the other Siegfried.

Then the Siegfried stopped right in the middle of a large number of Imperial Knightmares and increased its spinning speed. The velocity of its movement was so fast that the electromagnetic shield was visible to the human eye. Volleys of machine gun rounds and grenades landed on it without any effect. A Hadron blast just bounced right off it. The moment the barrage ended, the Siegfried fired out all of its lance slash harkens. Lances cut through the ranks of Imperial Knightmares with deadly accuracy. Then like an octopus would be swinging its arms, the KGF swung its harkens around, slicing anything its path, spinning and as if extending the spiked tornado it had done earlier.

An entire squadron of Gareths were decapitated like a giant sword had just cut through them. Vincent Wards and their commanders were smashed into pieces. The entire group around the Siegfried was completely wiped out.

"Fools!" The Siegfried commander shouted. "You're completely outmatched here!"

The latest group attempting an attack exploded mid air before they could even reach the KGF. Beside, the _Siegfried_ more _Vipers_ appeared providing cover fire with cannons. Some turned to fire at them but before they could do so, another group of _Vipers_ appeared, armed with MVS swords and cut them apart before returning to their _Siegfried_'s side.

Slowly, the new _Siegfried_ worked its way through the Imperial forces, destroying anything. Alleria's guard charged forward to meet the invaders but were forced to scatter lest they end up in the same fate.

But from the fire and smoke that washed over the air, a ruby figure flashed before the _Siegfried_. It was a _Vincent_ but had a different float system and had different armour. The pilot grinned.

The customised _Vincent_ charged, its sword readied. The prey had just appeared before it. _Siegfried_ had found its _Fafnir_!

The red knight was even more foolish than he thought. The knightmare was charging head on towards a spinning _Siegfried_. It would be an easy kill...

The slash harkens span around to attack, however where so many had perished, the red _Vincent_ dodged the lance-harkens and its wires at ease with incredible speed. In moments, he had made pass the all the harkens and their wiring, avoiding them with complete ease. The pilot swung some of the harkens around to cut it apart but each move was completely avoided despite that the controls were used by the Geass user' nerve system which was far more accurate than any piloting system. The _Vipers_ brought up their weapons and started firing but the results were the same with the scarlet figure flying alone surrounded by tiny explosions.

Then, he brought out his sword and raised high. Panic started to bubble up amongst the assassins. Then, what happened completely shocked everyone around. The _Vincent_ from going straight to the _Siegfried_'s hands disappeared in a blur of red before its screens. Instead, a massive sphere shape, burning, dented and glowing replaced it coming in high speed that the last thing the _Siegfried_ pilot could even think was that he had been fooled...

The spinning harkens struck the charging _Siegfried_ again and again, tearing thick pieces of its armour before the two finally contacted. The head slash harken lance of the charging pieced through the green head other in turn while the rest pierce through other body parts, bubbling explosions. So huge the two machines were they went down slowly before completely exploding.

The impact between two titans was tremendous was almost akin to a small FLEIA blast. The spinning _Siegfried_'s shield contacted with something that was just as hard as itself. Broken pieces of the two KGF flew here and there. Most of the Imperials had moved away out of range but not the _Vipers_ so stunned they were. The debris rained down on them instead, destroying them all increasing the explosion.

The light of the flame reflected on the crimson surface of the _Vincent_ that hovered before them, ignoring the small pieces of metal and flame that flew pass it. The fire reflected in its eyes.

* * *

"Now!" Several missile launchers fired from the sides as the Directorate Knightmares and soldiers broke into confusion. The Knightmares guarding the generator took the missiles square in the chest knocking both of them down before exploding.

"Now, charge!" Guilford threw a grenade over the enemy barricade and fired his way into the ranks of soldiers. Their volley took them full on and they were ripped apart. There was some return fire towards the crimson clad Guardsmen but it was weak and pathetic. It seemed like the destruction of the Knight Giga Fortresses had taken away their will to fight, while that of the Royal guards' increased drastically. Guilford drew his sabre and cut down one who was frantically trying to reload as they charged pass their defences. Grenades were thrown by his men and a series of explosions occurred over the enemy lines. The royal knight stabbed his sword down and pulled out his rifle and joined the onslaught. The moment the weapon had finished its bullets, Guilford pulled out his pistol and grabbed the sword.

One of his men slammed a rifle butt into an assassin before finishing him off with his dagger. The rest chased the enemy off, engaging both fire fights and melee. Guilford joined the fray, firing his pistol at several enemies cutting down anyone that got close enough. He slammed his sabre guard into one's face, breaking his nose with a satisfying crunch. One of those shadow figures leapt at him from behind, trying to kill him but he was better prepared and slashing up to the dropping figure that disappeared into the darkness. Anticipating the move, Guilford readied his pistol and simply waited for it appear again and fired. The shot went wide and the figure slashed at him with his dagger. Guilford parried the blow and thrust forward which the shadow figure just slid pass the blade but as he turned, the royal knight twisted his blade and slashed hard down the shadow figure's back. The figure screamed in pain and he thrust into his chest. The blade pierce through his heart with practice aim and Guilford quickly withdrew his weapon.

A roaring sound caught his attention and he saw another enemy Knightmare charging down firing its machine guns at some of his men.

"Give me that!" Guilford snatched a stinger from one of his soldiers and took him. He could see his weapon had locked on the Viper but that's not where he was aiming. He had been given this chance to destroy this generator and he's not going to lose that opportunity. He would kill two birds with one stone.

He pressed the trigger and the impact almost knocked him off balance. The missile flew straight up the Knightmare but instead of going for its body, the missile struck its float system. The Knightmare lost balance at once and flew down. With a trail of smoke, the black sleek machine crashed straight into the generator. They both exploded in a massive explosion.

Guilford reached for his com-link. "The generators have been destroyed! Guards to your Knightmares!"

* * *

Kallen and Mellenia reached Nunnally as they were a few steps from the refuge. All they needed to do was to get their Empress inside...

An explosion knocked them all down and a burst of rifle fire took down one of the guards, striking his breastplate. Nornette had drawn her revolver and had put a bullet through an assassin in the way. The other guards kicked a nearby table for cover and starting firing.

"Come, your majesty." The guard captain tried to get the young monarch inside when his leg was shot. Nunnally screamed as the man fell, trying to help him up. Kallen brought out her own pistol and fired in the direction. Mellenia aimed her rifle and fired as well. A shadow figure leapt towards them kicking a soldier away and charged towards Nunnally. Mellenia then pulled her rifle and threw it like a javelin. The crimson spear point struck the assassin in the back and he fell with an inhuman scream before falling to the ground dead. The captain brought the Empress to the ground as torrents of gunfire sprayed around.

"Finally!" Mellenia exclaimed as she grabbed a fallen rifle and started firing towards the assassins.

Kallen searched the room for something to even the odds and finally she saw a grenade hanging on a dead royal guard's armour across her. She added a new magazine into her pistol then leapt towards the dead man. She pulled the grenade out and flung it with all her strength towards the coming gun fire and exploded with a satisfying bang. Kallen then realised, that they needed time to get the Empress inside. Even though part of her told her it was madness, her other side told her there was little choice.

Sheathing her pistol and grabbing the dead guard's rifle Kallen jumped right into the other room.

"Kallen!" She heard Nunnally screamed. But Kallen ignored her and started firing her way through the assassins. Her volley took a squad by surprise and she cut them all down. She turned her firing around taking another out with bullets through the head. An assassin aimed his rifle at her and fired. In attempt to dodge it, Kallen used her momentum to slide down missing the gun fire by inches. The former Black Knight retaliated with her own volley, killing the man with a single burst.

Before they could take aim again, she jumped into a fallen statue where the rounds chipped off the statue in pieces. Landing on her stomach, Kallen momentarily gasped for breath before rolling over to fire against the covered enemy. Her shots took out another but went wide for the other two who went back to their cover.

Then one of those shadow figures appeared again, the ones which she had barely escaped from. With a drawn blade, it charged at her. Kallen brought her rifle around but the blade knocked the firearm aside. Knowing its capabilities now, Kallen lunged forward. A second slash cut her left arm but Kallen managed to land a kick into the man's torso. She ignored the pain from her wound and swung around with a turning kick. Momentary stunned, the kick solidly contacted with the Geass user. The blow sent the man back. Before he could recover, Kallen took out her pistol and fired three shots into the man's chest, the Strider's crimson eyes faded as he fell.

Sighing in relief, Kallen leaned against the statue where the enemy fire came back again. She understood now that the Striders could be beaten but she knew she needed to be much quicker and faster and not allow the enemy to read her movements. She grabbed the fallen dagger and held in a reverse grip on her left hand while she readied her pistol on her right. She waiting, occasionally firing back then reloaded her pistol, her last clip and waited. This was how she fought in the Guren, a dagger in one hand and the radiant surger in the other. The pistol would do a replacement here. Once the gun fire had wavered, Kallen leapt out.

"Agrah!" She let out a battle cry and charged towards the invaders. One who had been foolish enough to come out fell with a bullet through the heart. The second one losing time to reload swung his rifle which Kallen easily dodged and sliced his throat. She turned and fired another one at point black range, blood spraying on her face as the assassin's head exploded. Another with his gun reloaded, brought it down to fire when Kallen knocked the gun away and slashed him in the face. She spun around and finished her opponent off with a stab in the back.

As she twisted her blade, she fired two shots at a charging Strider which winked out of nowhere. The Geass user winked away again and appeared above her intent to bury his dagger in her head. Kallen pulled the dagger out and used the momentum to pull the assassin body and use him as a shield. It worked perfectly and the dagger was buried in the asssassin's head instead. Kallen took the chance to put a bullet into the Strider's head.

But despite her victory, more Striders and riflemen entered the room which forced her to pull back lest she be killed. Two Striders lunged at her. Kallen fired two shots at them but they managed to dodge them using their Geass to vanish in the darkness. Kallen jumped aside knowing that they were going to leap on her. She flung back and fired the last of her rounds in the air. One Strider appeared early and was taken by the shots, both in the chest and fell.

The other however, charged towards her and fell as his brains exploded from a rifle burst.

From the next room, the royal shock troopers led by Mellenia had begun engaging the assassins. Her example of dispatching the Striders were seen and put to great use taking down some of them.

However, even with them there were still too many enemies pouring but they could not let go. Her Majesty was here.

Soon they were forced to fight the Striders in a grim hand to hand battle while the other basic assassins kept on firing. The gun fire took down several troopers who were easily dispatched by the Striders despite their armour.

Then from the darkness, the enemy riflemen flung forward flying over their cover. Then a familiar dark helm greeted the group with a violet blade.

"Zero!" Mellenia shouted, in joy.

The masked knight quickly made short work of the surviving riflemen and turned to engage the Striders. Then suddenly some of the troopers screamed in pain suddenly and turned on them aiding the Striders. More of them Shadows appeared as if to take the advantage of their weakness.

Those left loyal fought back furiously and fiercely and suddenly one Strider broke through the melee and charged towards the Empress.

Both Kallen and Suzaku were hard pressed to do anything about it struggling against more than half a dozen Striders.

The lone Shadow Strider brought up his dagger and charged.

"NO!"

* * *

"That was too easy..." Arthur Peregrine looked down at the falling debris. Now all he had to...

"Agraaaah!" Arthur screamed as a deep sharp pain entered his mind. Ghostly images flash before him. He kept on shouting until he could do no more then something snapped in his head as if a vein had physically burst.

When he opened his eyes, they had crimson rings around the eyes. Then a voice screamed in his mind.

"_Nunnally...NOOOOO!"_

"NOOOOO!" Arthur's hands moved in their own accord and turned to the direction of the palace.

"Arthur, where are you going?" Anduin's voice asked but Arthur ignored him. In fact, he ignored everything around him even the battlefield and his own energy filler which was low now. He passed through the fighting between the Imperial and Directorate forces and continued his way through to the Imperial Palace's Keep.

Suddenly _Vipers_ appeared from all directions. Swords ready and drawn, they charged at him.

"Get...out...of...MY WAY!" The _Vincent_ pulled back double swords in one hand flung it, spinning towards the _Vipers_. The spinning crimson blades mowed its way through the _Vipers_ as if they weren't even there and Arthur just flew through their explosions and grabbing his sword again.

Another _Viper_ charged down with his sword gripped in both hands. Arthur separated his double blades into shorter swords and blocked the blow with one blade and decapitating the _Viper_ with the other. More _Vipers_ attacked as if trying to stop him from reaching the palace. The crimson _Vincent_ swept pass them, cutting two _Vipers_ in half and blocked a blow with one blade then fired his slash harkens point blank range into the enemy's head. Then he sliced his way through anything in his way. Nothing would stop him.

Then before him a familiar massive sphere object appeared, the last _Siegfried_...

"I said, get out of MY WAY!" Arthur roared again, combining both blades again into a double sword and charged forward. The _Siegfried_ seemed to be surprised by this head on attack and hesitated before finally firing his slash harkens.

Part of him told him it was suicide to do it, but he ignored it. Nunnally...only she mattered! Arthur's eyes were glowing literally crimson and with his black mane his roar made him look like his given name: the Demon of Britannia.

With that, the Vincent increased its speed despite the machine's energy warnings, dodging every lance harken thrown at him as well as any swings. The Siegfried pilot and others watching the battle could not believe their eyes as the blood coloured Knightmare made its way past such death traps twice, this time taking a Knight Giga Fortress alone. The crimson Knightmare brought down a heavy hard slash that brought a deep gash into the _Siegfried_'s face and slashed again and again creating more deep gashes.

The _Siegfried_ pilot broke his shock only in time to activate its electromagnetic shields, though without spinning which was used to repel boarders. The electricity coursed through the _Vincent_ and its pilot.

"Agrah!" Arthur screamed as pain coursed through his body. He felt his body losing control. He had been pushing over his limits for these past days more than his fragile body could handle. The mercifully darkness seemed to hover before him. Then an image of a young girl with sandy blond hair appeared before him slowly being eaten away by a black cloud of human skulls...

"_Brother!"_

"No...No...I will NOT die here!" Struggling against the pain, he brought the double swords in both hands and buried its point into the green head. The electric wave seemed to have gone out of control instead of focusing on him. Arthur then flicked on a switch and brought out his needle blazer and slammed it on the head where he buried the blade and pressed the trigger. The energy coursed through the device and blasted a deep hole into the green head and appearing from the back of the _Siegfried_'s back. With its electromagnetic shield up, the normal armour was greatly weakened. After the blow, Arthur leapt on the KGF and jumped over to continue without even looking back. Behind him the Siegfried started exploding and finally dropped like a rock. Everyone, knight and soldier alike stared at the sight in awe.

Using its needle blazer, the _Vincent_ literally smashed its way through the building walls in search for his lost queen.

* * *

"Nunnally!" Kallen screamed as the Shadow Strider leapt towards the young queen but as he did. A giant grey hand suddenly lashed out from the walls and grabbed the Strider mid-air. It crushed the man with a crunch and tossed the body away which slammed into the wall.

Kallen almost shouted in joy as she saw that the hand belonged to a familiar sight. It was the crimson-silver _Vincent_ that saved her months ago. The one she had been going to meet.

"Kill her!" A voice shouted. A line of riflemen started firing at the Empress but the Knightmare brought his hands down and covered the young queen from the fire, the tiny rounds doing nothing to it. The _Vincent_ turned to the Shadow striders below and swung a heavy fist towards them sending them all flying.

"Your highness!" Kallen made her way through to Lelouch's sister. The _Vincent_ let her enter his protective embrace. She took Nunnally in her arms and held her as the younger girl gripped her like a lifeline.

"Thank you." The teary eyed Empress told the red knight who just nodded and gestured to the refuge when a heavy force struck the _Vincent_ from behind.

Nunnally screamed as the _Vincent_ fell forward but it gripped the walls so that it won't fall on the queen.

A lone _Viper_ had attacked it taking advantage of the _Vincent_'s momentarily weakness, badly damaging its float system. The knights and guards moved in to protect their Empress as the two Knightmares engage in combat.

The _Vincent_ turned and fired its slash harkens which was cut down by the MVS Swords and the _Viper_ swung at the red Knightmare which cut a large chip of its shoulder. With the swords lost, the _Vincent_ struggled to fight back using simple kicks and punches. The _Viper_ swung and thrust again and again and the _Vincent_'s speed was the only thing that saved it. Finally, _Vincent_ finally started losing power and the dark Knightmare took advantage of it to pummel it to the ground, taking sadistic pleasure in its pain. With the red _Vincent_ threw a fist but a sword swing severed its entire arm and with a side kick the Viper knocked the other Knightmare aside.

Only then it turned to the Empress and aimed its machine guns at the queen and her escort. Kallen pulled herself over Nunnally, in attempt to cover her.

"Glory will be mine!" The _Viper_ exclaimed when a red flash blazed before him. The _Vincent_ stood in front and took the volley fully, saving the group. The rounds truck the _Vincent_'s chest plate again and again and with its light armour the sabot rounds melted its way through. But before it could fall, the Vincent then lunged forward and using whatever that was left of its energy inside to activate its needle blazer and slammed into the _Viper_'s chest and the knight pulled his trigger.

The _Viper_'s entire chest exploded and slammed back down in a pile of burning rubble. Unfortunately he wasn't the only one and the _Vincent_ fell down by its side. Although it did not explode, the pilot would suffocate to death in the powerless Knightmare.

"Hurry! Save him!" Nunnally shouted and Kallen leaving her in the care of Zero and Nonette while her and the other guards help the pilot out of the _Vincent_.

It cockpit system had been damaged already in the fall and was already lying out broken. Kallen wanting to be the first one to help leapt over and stood watching in shock.

Kallen could not believe her eyes. Every logical part of her told her that what she was seeing was completely unreal. A dream. A fantasy. Memories of the brief but mournful funeral appeared; years of fighting under the black banner, countless nights of despair, love-sickness and anger consumed her. It was wrong. It was impossible. It...

"It can't be..."

"Kallen, what's wrong?" Nunnally asked concerned. But Kallen could not answer her.

The blood soaked figure that lay before her in the torn dark red and black uniform with dents, cuts and bruises with an unblemished face. The same face that she had thought she would never see again. The same face that haunted her since that very day. The same one she knew should no longer exist in this world.

"_Lelouch…"_

**With that I conclude the end of Arc I of this story. I'm so glad to see there are many people expressing interest in this fanfiction. Personally speaking I don't think too highly of this story after seeing so many great fanfics out there. I've been extremely busy as I'm playing a part in my college's musical and it took up the whole week and there's alot of stuff to do. I want to thank you guys for all your support.**

**I'm going to take a small break here and focus more on "My Queen" either until I finish it or I get stuck somewhere.**

**So until then, stay tuned for...**

**Arc II: The Prince or the Puppet**

**Which obviously refer to our favourite prince. I've seen the polls and alot of you think Arthur is indeed Lelouch himself. Well, I could tell you but it would spoil the fun so, I'll just let you guys read and find out.**

**Well, take care! See you guys on My Queen.**


	14. Arc II: The Prince or the Puppet

**A prequel for the next arc. And the man who everyone's waiting for is here.**

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* * *

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"_I see darkness...nothing but darkness...surrounding me...but it is to be expected..._

_The day I took over Britannia...the day I took over the world...it has finally been over...I have created...peace..._

"The Demon Lelouch is dead!" Were the last cries he heard and smiled.

_Heheh...it is rather ironic seeing that the __**Demon Emperor**__ had created peace...but through their hatred of me...there will be peace...I can finally rest now..."_

"**LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA!"**

Pain spread from the sword blow in his chest, even as he passed into death's grips. A huge dark shadow loomed over him. He guessed it must be the grim reaper, prepared to tear his soul apart. Lelouch chuckled. He was fine with that. He had been successful in his goal.

"**You, who committed so many sins...you who killed countless innocents...you who manipulate so many pure souls..., must now pay for all you've done..."**

Lelouch nodded. "I accept..."

The figure snorted and backhanded him. The blow struck Lelouch in the cheek and sent him staggering back and slammed into a spiked wall where his body was impaled by a hundred spikes piercing his body.

"Agrah!" He screamed in pain. At once, the darkness had dispersed. Slowly, revealing a fiery dungeon filled with various forms of hell. Black shadowy wraiths in ragged clothes wonder about torturing their victims. Some were being boiled alive. Others relived what they had done in the past: a former serial killer which he once seen on TV, who had tortured, killed and eaten six victims now pass through cutting devices which cleave through all his flesh, leaving scratches and deep gashes all across his body. The horribly mutilated man screamed in agony as the body was dumped across a huge where the black shadowy figures feasted upon him, tearing limb from limb.

Lelouch vomited at the sight, vomiting blood which strain across his already bloodied robes and left him in a terrible odour.

"**Yes...this is how sinners pay for their crime...but yours would be far worse."**

The shadowy figure looked more gruesome than any book, video game or any other form of fantasy could picture the reaper.

"Do what you want..." He replied. "As long as those dear to me are safe, I will accept anything..."

The reaper laughed. He laughed and laughed finding his comment extremely humorous.

"**Hahaha...you have damned their fates the moment you knew them...they will suffer for what you have done as well..."**

"What!" Lelouch looked up in horror, a horror that not even the terrible sights around him could muster. "They've done nothing wrong! I did! I caused the massacre! I was the one who killed Euphie! I was the one who manipulate her into doing them! I was the one who cause the millions in Tokoyo Settlement! They had nothing to do with them!"

In response, the reaper laughed and grabbed his throat with his fiery claws and pulled him out of the spikes.

"**Their lives were forfeit thanks to you."**Images flowed through Lelouch's mind.

_A green haired woman stood tied to a pole in a dark hall, screaming as her body was slowly burnt away..._

"**They will suffer because of your sins..."**

_A burning city with the torn banners of Britannia, surrounded by the corpses of thousands appeared in his mind. Broken Knightmares and tanks were all over the place burning. The Imperial Keep itself was in ruins and filled with holes and dents. Soldiers in red uniform of the Royal guard littered the palace entrance dead. Inside was a tomb surrounded by broken Knightmares belonging to the Knights of the Round. The Zero mask lay on the ground, shattered and broken while a few metres away from it a browned haired man dressed in violet and black lay on the ground in a pool of blood with a broken wheel chair stood by his side._

"**Because of what you led them to..."**

_Amongst the dead knights, a young woman with red haired dressed in a crimson jumpsuit lay in a bloody pool beside the tomb near a broken red Knightmare. Written on it was:_

"_**Nunnally Vi Britannia, the 100**__**th**__** Empress of the Empire. She will be greatly missed." **_

_The woman's body was heavily mutilated but her chest was still moving. With a great deal of pain she turned over. Her eyes, deep sea blue looked around her and they rested on a crumpled piece of paper that lied on the bloodied ground. Groaning in pain, the woman crawled desperately to it. She held it and gently unfolded the crumpled paper. A brief smile crossed her mouth as she gave the picture one last look, her eyes glittered in tears._

'_Lelouch...I will...finally...be...with you...' With that the light in her eyes disappeared..._

"**NO!"** Lelouch's scream deafened everything around him that even the reaper seemed startled by it. The former Emperor glared and his eyes suddenly glowed crimson and they flared brightly. The death bringer so startled by it, released his captive. Lelouch fell back in a thud. He quickly stood up.

"I...will...not allow those who I love suffer for **MY** sins..."

He shrugged off all of his bloodied wounds and reached for a sword on a nearby stand where various torture weapons were held.

Recovering from his surprise, the grim reaper instead laughed and pulled itself up to its full height which was about five feet taller than the former Britannian Emperor.

"**Foolish mortal. You know it clear from the beginning that you are doomed! You can barely carry that blade at your fittest! Ahahahaha!" **The reaper raised his hand. It sparked in a ball of flame where it slowly twisted into a lean narrow shape and turned into a massive flaming claymore.

He was right. The blade was _very_ heavy and he knew the chances he had against death itself assuming that he was a skilled swordsman were slim. That he was not, meant that he stood almost no chance. However, the dark haired royal shook away all such thoughts and readied in a fighting stance. As a prince, Lelouch had some knowledge in fencing as a youth but that so long ago.

But he couldn't allow this! Lelouch Vi Britannia was willing to suffer but he will not allow others to suffer for HIS crimes!

Against all odds, he would need to create a miracle.

"Agrah!" He charged.

"**Hahaha, as you wish." **Lelouch lunged forward and thrust. His blade went right through the reaper as if it wasn't even there.

"What?"

The reaper laughed and swung his blazing sword, creating an arc of fire. Lelouch ducked at once, managing to avoid the blow by inches with the flame burning part of his cheeks. Before he could move again, the reaper brought the blade back and sliced his chest open. The former Emperor fell back hard on the ground, coughing. The wound felt like as if someone had set fire in his chest and that's just without the bloody wounds. Images of everyone he ever loved, or cared for appeared burning and screaming in pain, shouting his name over and over again. Lelouch felt his body giving away but nevertheless struggled to get up. He reached for his fallen sword and fight back to carry it, knowing his weak strength was in no condition to use it well. The raven haired figure charged again swinging it in a wide arc which passed through the figure again and the force of his own blow sent him staggering on the ground.

"**So weak...So very weak...even in my time here, I've never seen such a worthless and pathetic being like you...I don't think even hell wants you here..."**

"Damn..." Lelouch stood lying on the ground, defeated, weak and pitiful in a pool of blood. His chest and body was all but crying out for him to rest but Lelouch ignored it. He could not allow...He CAN NOT allow that to happen. Slowly and painfully, he gathered himself up and gripped the sword handle and pulled himself together.

The devil chuckled as the former Emperor struggled to balance himself, blood dripping around him. **"Still willing to fight are you?"**

In response, Lelouch charged again, sword in both hands albeit falling several times on the ground. This time, the demonic figure laughed hard and swung his great fiery blade with a great blow. Their blades contacted and his blow not only knocked Lelouch's sword out of his grip but the wielder himself was sent flying. Lelouch collapsed with a great thud on the hard ground, all the energy in his body knocked out. He tried to move up and fight but his body refused to obey him anymore. For not the first time Lelouch cursed his arrogance and laziness in the past. He needed to get out of here. He must prevent that from happening...

"**Pitiful...You knew the outcome of this..." **The reaper loomed over the pathetic figure. **"You know that you could never defeat me. Not even with your great tactical mind. You are outmatched, alone in the halls of hell...yet you fight on...**

"**Your body is suffering from wounds that not even the most harden warrior could endure...yet you endure...you know you had damned everyone you love...you know that they all hate and despise you more than anything...yet you still care for them..."**

"I..." Lelouch coughed out a stream of blood. "It...is...all...for...them...I'd...I...will...suffer...their sins..." He paused to take a breath. "Just...save...them...ensure...they...live..."

The devil laughed and laughed hard over and over again at his confession.

"**Then..."**

The dark figure stopped, he took his flaming sword and raised it high.

"**You..."**

"**...have..."**

The sword came down on his face. Lelouch closed his eyes imagining the faces of all he had left behind. Nunnally...my dear sister...how I wish to be by your side again...Suzaku...please protect her...CC...Please enjoy life and thank you for your gifts...Kallen...Kallen...I wish I had more time to know you...

"**...just..."**

"**...Pass the test."**

"What?"

Suddenly the world spanned around and darkness consumed him again...Images flowed again but nothing he had seen... a burning city...Roman Legions marching...a rain of arrows showering on a group of armoured knights...a wedding scene...strange creatures locked in combat...and finally everything went black.

The next time Lelouch opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a carpeted floor, staring into the clouds. The skies were orange-yellow as if it was at dusk. It...it was beautiful...as if he was in heaven...heaven? That startled Lelouch. What did he do to deserve this? Was this another part of a nightmare from hell?

He struggled up and looked around. He recognised the place. It...He was in the C's World! What was he doing here? Maybe he wasn't alive anymore. Was this where all those who die finally end up? He didn't know. But remembering the devil's words, he started to look around and end up staring at a full armoured medieval knight with a dark blue cloak.

"**I must admit. You surprise one that is rarely surprised.**" The Knight spoke.

"Who are you? Where am I? What is going on here?" Lelouch demanded.

"**You are in technically in the C's World but I guess you must have figured it out by now."** The Knight replied and walked towards him. **"My identity at this moment is not important right now..."**

Lelouch had to look up to face the armoured figure moved closer to him who was proven to be a full head taller than he was. His helm hid his face or any part of his head and the knight's chest plate bore a golden dragon which seems oddly familiar and a jewelled long sword stood on his hip. He truly was an intimidating figure, physically and mentally.

"**What is important," **The warrior continued. **"Is that are you willing to do it?"**

"What?"

"**Are you willing to fight tooth and nail for your love ones? Or was it all but an act?"**

Fury touched Lelouch and he resisted the urge to strike the armoured figure or use his Geass on the arrogant knight.

"As long as they stay safe, I'm willing to do anything..." Then Lelouch remembered the nightmare. "What I saw...is...is not real...is it?"

The knight turned away.

"**It could be real...but I'm willing to give you a chance to prevent that from happening..."** The warrior stopped in front of a shelf and picked up a book. **"Although...it would mean you will need to come back to this world...and face your sins..."**

Lelouch dreaded that. He had made sure that no one like the Demon Emperor would ever appear in the world. And of course, his own personal problems...But if it means to protect Nunnally and the others...

"I am."

"**Then I will give you this chance...Do you accept?**"

Lelouch pulled himself to his full height. "I accept...but on a few conditions..."

With that the Knight laughed but unlike the Devil's, this one was full of good humour.

"**Somethings never change...of course. But you will need a new sword." **The knight handed him the book he was holding and opened a few pages. Lelouch looked into the book and jumped in surprise.

"Is that..."

"**Yes.** **It is as you see it."**

Lelouch took a few more moments to study it then shook his head.

"Then my sword will be...called...Arthur Peregrine..."

* * *

**The next chapter would take some time to come as the new chapter for My Queen is half way working. This is just a short sneakpeak. I hope you enjoy reading it. Read and Review!  
**


	15. Chapter 1: Calm After the Storm

**Ok, first chapter of Arc 2. Hope you enjoy it. The real story has just begun and some of Arthur's past will be revealed!**

_It was a dark beak night. Darker than usual. He was glad that they had many lit torches tonight. He glanced at a group of soldiers clad in red and mail silently eating their meal around a fire. He glanced at another group, this one dressed in plate with their shields lying beside their seats. The golden dragon on the aegis glowed in the flame light._

"_My lord prince," A voice called behind. A soldier dressed in more ornate armour than the others with a crimson tabard with a gold dragon stood straight in attention and saluted._

"_What is it, captain?" The Prince asked._

"_We've found the Cultists' hideout. They're in the Scafell mountains. Lord Gawain has our Light Cavalry Divisions surrounding them as you ordered. They've blocked all exits."_

"_Good job. Tell Gawain to hold position and wait for my orders only. Then assemble my royal guard."_

"_Yes, your highness." The officer saluted and walked off barking orders. The flame of the torches nearby flickered, illuminating the prince's own armour. It was shinning silver plate that matched the black and red tunic bearing the golden dragon of the Pendragon line. His sword, gold hinted stood hanging gallantly on his left hip, his shield, jet black bore the golden dragon as well hung on his back hidden by the blood-red royal cloak he wore._

_A knight in gold trimmed shining white armour appeared beside the young royal. He took off his cobalt-plumed gold crested helm, revealing a young man with vivid green eyes and short brown hair._

"_We've finally got them, sire." The knight spoke. "This whole nightmare can finally end."_

_The prince nodded. "Indeed, old friend. They must pay for the chaos and destruction they unleash upon humanity. Assemble the knights. I will lead them."_

_Lancelot looked surprised. "Sire, are you sure that is a wise decision?"_

_The prince stared at his old friend sternly."If the King does not move, how does he expect his subordinates to follow? Besides," The prince fidgeted with his sword hint. "I want to be the one to put this sword in the bastard's heart..."_

"_I swear that in the name of my mother __Igraine__..." promised Arthur Pendragon, Crown Prince and Knight of Britannia._

**Meanwhile outside New Pendragon**

"Damn!" Anduin Landers gritted his teeth as one of the Viper's drill slash harkens scratched his Float System. He turned his machine guns on the smaller Knightmare but it was fast and avoided the sabot rounds with ease. The Viper then brought out his sword down to cut him in half. But former Special Forces knight brought his right arm and slammed it into the Viper's chest then quickly activated his right Hadron cannon and blasted the Viper at point blank range.

Then a white and green Vincent flew in firing two slash harkens at a trio of Vipers, taking two down then used his MVS to sever the final Viper in half. The Vincent then flew alongside Anduin's Gareth.

"They're falling back!" Harry called out. "Should we push on?"

"_Negative. Pull all forces back. Do not follow."_

"But, milord, it would take time to track them again."

"_Agree. But we must secure the Scion of Pendragon and the Empress first. That has always been our objective. We did not survive the Fall of Camelot to act rashly on this."_

"Yes, milord. I understand. I will have Landers to recover the King."

"What did Lord Bernard say?" Anduin asked as he inspected the damages on his Knightmare.

"He's ordering us to hold position. Anduin, you better go in the Palace. I seriously doubt that Arthur's identity is still in cover. You're a better negotiator than I am. You'll do better in explaining why the Ghost of the Demon Emperor is here."

"Roger that." The Gareth turned away and headed back to the Palace itself.

Harry Dunford stared into the sky. "I really hope this is worth it."

Kallen did not know what to make of the unconscious figure lying on the bed. He had sustained heavy injuries both internal and external, receiving a blow on his head along with some broken ribs and numerous cuts and bruises. His silver-white hair had blood covering them and his skin was practically almost white, making him look like one of the dead but Kallen knew that was not the case.

His bare chest moved up and down. His built Kallen noticed was lean but muscled, somewhat like that of Suzaku. It was well toned though, built similar to that of an athlete. She found herself staring at it before she realise what she was doing and turned away blushing. Instead she turned to focus on his face.

What made her so anxious was his face. The half-Japanese knight took out the photo of Lelouch she had always kept and glanced at it then glanced at the white haired figure.

Kallen pulled away a strand of white hair covering his face. It was Lelouch's face alright.

"It can't be..." It was the same face. Completely identical. Despite the hair colour, his face was completely the same. And with what she knew about him, his tactics, his cryptic talk...it might really be him...

"Lelouch..." Kallen murmured absently.

_"KALLEN! Hang on! I promise! I WILL rescue you! Just hang on! Stay strong!"_

"_Kallen...when this is all over, will you come back to Ashford with me? I..."_

"_You were my most useful piece. It's like a well played knight."_

"_Kallen...you have to live..."_

"Damn it! Why do you have to do this to me!" She suddenly shouted startling the pair of Royal Guards at the door.

"My lady?" The Guard officer asked with his sword half-drawn while his counter-part had his pistol out.

Kallen composed herself and shook her head. "It's nothing. Leave us."

The Guard officer gave one look at the sleeping figure then nodded. "Very well, madam. We'll be at the halls if you need us." He gestured at his companion and walked off.

* * *

**Meanwhile in other parts of the Palace**

"Lord Guilford!" Claudio walked over to his senior knight.

"Report." Cornelia's knight demanded as he and a team of other Guard officers tried to bring chaos back into the damaged palace.

"The Empress is untouched. Other than the damage in the fighting, everything else seems to be in place except for an item."

"An item?" Guilford was confused. Why would anyone want anything from the Palace?

"Yes, my lord. The chamber to the treasury was damaged. One item was missing: the royal mace."

"Thank heavens it's only an item. Continue your searches."

"Yes, milord."

From the shadows, a cloaked figure grinned. This was too easy.

* * *

_Arthur did not remember how it all did happened but he found himself in a familiar dark room surrounded by lights glaring down on him. He was wearing his old uniform he had used to serve as a royal guardsman under Emperor Lelouch, a grey and gold tunic with a white cloak. In his right hand was a familiar the ruby hinted longsword while in the other was a black aegis with a golden eye on it._

"_Commence." A strong thick voice announced._

_At once ten hooded figures dressed in crimson livery with a golden dragon leapt forward converging on the lone figure in the centre. Arthur grinned and went to fighting stance, shield braced and sword ready. The first figure lunged forward armed with a bastard sword and swung down._

_As Arthur raised his sword to block, he sidestepped, using the momentum to turn and brought his blade on his attacker's head. The blade collided with a metallic clank and the crimson figure appeared to be a full armoured knight with a helm. As his attacker stumble forward, Arthur brought up his shield to block a second blow. The former guardsman then thrust forward but his opponent was too fast and dodged the blade tip with a back step._

_A third figure lunged forward wielding a long pike, thrusting the pole-arm in Arthur's direction. Arthur parried the stroke and responded with a series of slash and thrusts which the warrior blocked with practice ease. His second opponent lung forward again with his sword as Arthur parried another thrust. Sensing the enemy, Arthur stepped in and grabbed the spear shaft and used all of his strength to twist the weapon out of the surprised knight and slammed its end into his companion's stomach. _

_Arthur then swung his shield and slammed it into the surprised pikeman's mailed chin, knocking the warrior off his feet. Arthur used the chance to finish the stunned swordsman with a calculated swing on the knight's helmed head._

"_Three down." Arthur thought, but no sooner he did, he heard a familiar cocking sound and jumped out of the way as a barrage of machine gun fire engulfed him. _

_He didn't have time to see the gunner, falling forward in a roll, Arthur stood up but before he could do anything, the ground suddenly trembled followed by a_ _horse whinny. Following his instinct, Arthur raised his shield and the hammering blow that contacted it was strong enough to send him flying into the ground._

_As he grunted in pain at the collision, his quick hearing picked another unfamiliar sound and Arthur had to jerk up as a smooth bullet sliced through the air almost catching his flesh. Lelouch's soldier quickly ran with all his strength as his steps were hounded by a trail of bullets. His white cloak was already half-filled with bullet holes._

"_Medieval Knights with modern rifles..." He muttered as a bullet almost struck his face._

_A figure watching the scene from above tensed as the former royal guard fought against the traps in the darkness by the remaining knights dressed in red and gold. It looked argued with another figure beside but before Arthur could do anything else, a second horseman swept past him swinging a war hammer. The rider came on his right side thus if he was unable to block properly with his shield, causing him to stumble forward. _

_Before he knew it, an armoured figure barrelled into him, sending him crashing on the ground. Another knight, this one armed with a shield and sword thrust down to do the finishing blow but Arthur was quick and managed to roll away._

_Then a ping sound echoed through the air and the ground just before him exploded. The explosion caused him to sent flying through the air before crashing to the ground. He felt his body weakening from various wounds and his weapons felt extremely heavy._

_But he couldn't be beaten here. Arthur did not remember why but he knew that if he did not pass this, something terrible would happen._

_Against all odds, Arthur Peregrine struggled up leaning on his sword for support._

_The former royal guardsman considered his chances. He was facing about 7 armoured knights armed with a mixture of modern and medieval weapons who were using them with perfect conjunction together. He had to admit they were extremely skilled warriors._

_But now that he knew what they were capable of...Arthur knew that he would win._

_He closed his eyes and started counting._

"_One, two...THREE!" And Arthur suddenly turned left running and just as he did a volley of bullets crackled the floor._

"_Four, five, six...Seven!" He twirled around; kneeling as he went avoiding a long blade that had went inches pass his head. Arthur rolled over. The horse was too fast for him to strike thus he leapt back on his feet and continued running before the sniper catches him in his sights again._

"_Eight, Nine, TEN!" Just as he said it, a sword jabbed out from the darkness. Arthur parried the thrust with his shield and struck the knight's head with his sword hint. The blow fell with steel pang, stunning the knight._

_Then the ground trembled again and Arthur grinned. One of the horsemen had arrived again and raising his sword high for a strike. Arthur then smashed his shield into the dazed armoured figure's chest who as he fell forward. The knight collided with the charging horseman with the horse crushing the dazed warrior while the rider was knocked off his saddle flying. The dismounted knight quickly got to his feet but was too slow as Arthur's sword crashed into the knight's unprotected neck._

_Arthur then ran off again, running in zig-zag patterns as volleys of bullets rain down on him. Shield raised, Arthur grinned maliciously._

"_Yes, it works." He muttered. "I CAN do it!" One would have considered it to be insane for one to understand how he could have predicted the movements of the knights and their timing so well. It would take even the most calculated fighters more than a first engagement to understand an enemy just like that. However he had a mind like no other..._

_As he ran, Arthur spotted a careless movement by one of the riflemen who had fired him continuously without moving. Grinning, the former royal guard dashed towards the figure. The knight realising his mistake, tried to retreat into the darkness but Arthur was already upon him and tackled the armoured figure. The cloaked crimson form swung his rifle butt at him but Arthur was fast and knocked the firearm aside with his shield then thrust into the knight's breastplate so hard that it sent the knight stumbling back. Arthur then swung a hard blow on his helm to finish the warrior off._

_Then he suddenly leapt off again, followed by a trail of sparks. Occasionally, Arthur would raise his shield to block his head from the sniper shots which were getting far too accurate for his taste. From the amount of gunfire he was getting, Arthur knew that there were actually more than just ten opponents since the beginning of the battle but he did not waver. This was an excellent time to put his new abilities to a test. To save him energy and cover, Arthur would occasionally engage melee with several swordsmen and other fighters using them for cover._

_One knight tried to smash Arthur's skull with a mace time and time again only to fall victim to one of his own comrade's machine gun fire._

_He then ran around again letting the gunfire follow him repeating the same tactics. Soon they were joined by several barrages of grenades which Arthur had to indeed be careful of as he more than once almost ran right straight into one explosion. And the cavalry patrols did not help either who somehow manage to avoid the explosions and gunfire._

_The knight commander then saw the pattern of the royal guard's movements. He ordered his riflemen to paint the entire ground with machine gun barrage while his melee fighters to defend the riflemen._

_Then suddenly Arthur leapt towards one corner using his shield to block the barrages before slamming into one rifleman. The other knight with a two-handed sword tried to chop Arthur in two but he managed to avoid the blow and used his shield to turn the rifle into their own men. The knights danced in the unexpected gunfire despite their armour and fell. Arthur then cut down the rifleman, taking the weapon for his own and turned the grenade launcher into the group of survivors. The explosion sent all the knights flying._

_Letting the rifle down, Arthur found himself standing alone in the middle of a smoking ground surrounded by lying figures in red. Several standing figures appeared and surrounded him. The knights, some with swords and rifles approached him. Then suddenly, the knights lowered their weapons and knelt before him._

_A clap sounded in the darkness. Then a tall figure in blue entered the light._

"_Well, done. Well, done. You have indeed proved yourself." Lord Bernard announced._

_Arthur looked at himself and chuckled. "I didn't expect this either. If I had I might have paid more attention to my lessons."_

"_Then you will have a final test." Bernard snapped a finger and caped figure entered._

"_Lord Jeremiah?" Arthur asked, recognising the figure._

"_My lord, I will be your final test. Please...forgive me if I harm..."_

_Arthur laughed. "Haha, come Lord Jeremiah. If I do not get the best experience, how am I to learn? As they say, _'No pain, No gain.'_ Well come on."_

_Arthur went to fighting stance._

_Jeremiah finally relented. "Very well." He went into a stunning posture and raised his arms high and two golden blades shot out from his fists. He swung them around, in a great display that symbolising his expertise in the weapons before bringing them down in a fighting stance._

"_En garde...your highness..." Arthur froze. It wasn't the horrifying charging figure that so startled him nor his incredible speed nor the fact that he was fighting a cyborg. It was his words..._

"Highness?"

Arthur woke up realising his mission was. He was sweating beads. His body was stiff, his muscles were aching. What happened? What's going on? What was he doing here? Where was here? He looked around and saw it was an infirmary. When did he arrive here?

Arthur touched his forehead and flinched from the cut he had touched. He started to flexed himself and found that he was wearing a number of bandages. In some part of his body, he could feel the pain and knew that he had broken a bone or two. Luckily his arms and legs seemed to be alright. He started pulling off some of the wires and was about to get up when someone entered the room.

"Damn, mate. You look like Lelouch's ghost." He saw Anduin dressed in the Arfon uniform of a black and red tunic with blue riding trousers and long black boots. It was based on the pattern of the Ashford Foundation's Household Guard and expanded out of it. The Foundation itself has been keen supporters of the Order for a long time.

"How long have I been out?" Arthur asked as he tried to get out of his bed. Anduin helped him to his feet.

"About six hours or so." The younger knight grinned. "You made quite an impression. Both the Knight of Two and the Empress herself was looking after you. She's barely left your side."

"Oh really?" Arthur muttered, not at all interested.

"You're not surprised? Damn, I've always had a hard time trying to get an impression out of females and you just attract them like bees to honey." The blond knight laughed.

Arthur smirked but allowed a small smile at his younger companion. Despite everything, Anduin was a good man, loyal, brave if a bit a little idealistic.

"You have my uniform?" Arthur asked. Anduin nodded and took out a folded set of uniform including his Knight's Cloak.

"Here it is." He said giving the clothes. "Do you want anything?"

"A cup of water. And an apology to Lloyd for destroying the prototype."

Anduin laughed. "Haha, yeah, well I think he'll love the performances you put up." With that the other knight rose and left to get water.

Left alone, Arthur started changing into his uniform putting on his longsword on his belt. Once finished, he checked himself in the mirror and saw that some of his dyed hair had blood on it. Using a wet towel in his room, he tried to wipe them out. Arthur once again looked at himself in the mirror and frowned as he suddenly saw himself with his hair and uniform become black.

The knight turned around to see a young woman with crimson hair dressed in the white and gold uniform of the infamous Knights of the Round. This one wore a crimson cloak that matched her fiery hair.

She looked surprised seeing him awake but gathered herself with the speed of a practiced soldier. The young woman started for him but stopped half-way as if uncertain to go any further. He raised his eyebrow in puzzlement which only made her all the more uncertain. Up closer, Arthur saw that the knight incredibly attractive. Her features were a mixture of Asian and Britannian. Her face was attractive. Her features were too strong for it. Her body was well toned and despite her small size, Arthur knew that she was a fearsome fighter and he saw it in her blue eyes which held a fiery taste to it and saw that it held great compassion as well. Somehow, she looked oddly familiar. Arthur felt...as if he met her before.

A voice called out. "Kallen? Are you here?"

"Kallen?" Arthur wondered. Somehow that name seems extremely familiar to him. As if he knew her...

A second Knight of the Round, a middle age woman with a grey cloak entered the room.

"Whoa!" She gasped. "Lelouch?" She blurted.

Arthur frowned. "I am Arthur Peregrine."

"Oh, forgive me. I'm Nonette Enneagram, the Knight of Four." She bowed. Arthur noted that she was a tall powerfully built woman and from the way she walks, he saw that she was a veteran of many battles. Arthur nodded to the royal knights. However, the red one, Kallen stood petrified at him.

Amused, Arthur smirked. "Heh, are you going to just stand there?" He asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Kallen, then suddenly trembled at his voice her eyes suddenly watered and ran off without a word.

"Huh? Kallen? Wait Kallen!" The woman went after the Knight of Two, leaving a confused Arthur alone in the room.

Then Anduin re-entered the room holding a glass of water looking behind. He stared at Arthur in surprise.

"Damn, you must tell me how you do that!"

"Who was that?" Arthur asked, taking the glass. "That girl...Kallen."

Anduin grinned. "Made a decision already, eh? Well...let's see. Kallen...Kallen Kozuki...the Knight of Two. A personal friend to Her Majesty. And one of the Black Knight Commanders in Britannia."

"Black Knight?" Then Arthur remembered. Kallen Kozuki...or otherwise known as Kallen Stadtfeld, daughter of James Stadtfeld, commonly known as the Ace of the Elevens, Captain of the Zero's Elite Guard...and...Arthur's eyes narrowed as he gripped his sword hint until his knuckles had turned white.

The one who betrayed Lelouch...

* * *

**So that's the end. Sorry if it's just a short chapter. Read & Review!**


	16. Chapter 2: Dragon or Demon

"_Good evening," A young woman spoke on the television. "This is Milly Ashford. Today, we had one of the most hellish nightmares Britannia had ever seen where an attempt on Her Majesty's life was made this night. The identities of these attackers are currently unknown but the Imperial experts have suspected that the Purist Rebels have a hand into it due to the numbers and weapons used by the assassins." An image of a smoking city with frequent patrols of Knightmares and other VTOL aircrafts appeared behind the blond reporter._

"_Despite all odds, however, their attempt was foiled by Her Majesty's own Royal Guard led by our heroic Zero himself. Since then Britannia's elite Imperial Guard forces have been tirelessly searching for any suspects in the Imperial capital. During the battle, it is reported that the red Knightmare model Vincent which we believe to be the same Scarlet Saviour that saved so many lives in the Battle of New England as well as the Taking of Richmond had entered as well." A blurry video footage of a light crimson light flashed through the dark night in the mist of explosions and gunfire._

"_The Red knight's personal forces are currently resting in the Palace alongside our own brave soldiers. Will we know the identity of our mysterious hero? Only time will tell._

"_You heard it first from Milly Ashford."_

The screen suddenly turned blank.

"Damn! Your assassins failed, Meadus!" The Duke of Oxbridge shouted, bellowing the tail of white coat. "I thought you and your shadow friends were the best assassins in the world. We invested a lot of money in the divisionary unit. Those Vipers cost us more than a fortune."

"On the contrary, my dear friend," The shadowy figure replied, calmly. "The Shadow Striders have dealt a significant damage to their standing forces. And the fact they had been attacked in the centre of their Empire means they know they are vulnerable. That's another blow. Now our spy in the capital will tell us more about this enemy we're facing."

Oxbridge drained the last of his wine to calm himself down. However, the anger has not entirely left. "But now they know! They will be more prepared now. It is now a perfect excuse for the UFN to send more Black Knights into Britannia."

"And so what if they do?" Meadus' tone was still calm, and arrogant. Oxbridge fought the urge to tear his smirk off his lips. "You have us. The Geass Directorate is at your service. So long as you keep funding us. The Imperial forces and their Black knight allies are nothing compared to the Power of Geass! You have the magic itself on your side."

Oxbridge knew that Meadus gotten him there. It was true. Not even the most powerful war-machines created by man were able to match the might of Geass. From what he has learnt, this mysterious power was the key figure in many religious and mystical movements in the past including the Celtic Druids and the Cathars as well as the Spanish Inquisition. "But I want results!" He protested. "It's been too long. You promised!"

"And promised we did. But we require another shipment. We can train more warriors without it."

"Fine!" The nobleman went to open a file and took out a pen and quickly wrote his signature on it. "Here." He held out the file. "Now, we need more troops and agents."

"Good." The cloaked figure took the paper. "I will now go report to the Primus of this news." With that Meadus had vanished into the shadows. And Oxbridge wondered if it was all worth it.

Meadus in the meantime arrived outside infront of a draw bridge where the Purist castle was based in Vancouver.

"My lord Meadus," A heavily cloaked figure called softly.

"Was your mission successful?" Meadus asked.

The shadowy figure grinned. "Oh yes, brother. No one could have suspected that the whole attack on the Empress was secondary. Here it is. The Jewelled Mace of Offering. The first relic is ours."

He held out a glittering red and gold mace. Meadus stared at it with widened eyes, as if completely in awe of the weapon. This weapon had been passed down from King to Emperor since the founding of Albion, the founding of England and the founding of Britannia. When the British Isles were invaded by Napoleon, the jewel was taken by the Britannians. The jewel of three mighty Kingdoms...

He touched it and held it high. The weapon glowed as Meadus' eyes glowed with the Geass symbol.

"You have done well, Cardinal." Meadus muttered. "It's a shame the Empress couldn't die then and there but it does not matter anymore. Now that we only have two more relics to find and it would soon be over."

"What of the Scion of Pendragon?" The Cardinal asked. "He possesses a significant threat."

"You will have the chance to deal with your little brother. Do not worry. The Primus has a plan in mind for him."

%%%

**Back in the Palace**

"Brother...could it really be you?" Nunnally wondered as she stared at the military documents presented on her desk.

"Your Majesty?" Zero turned to ask, and despite the mask his concern was obvious.

"Suzaku," She said sternly, disregarding the secret identity. "I want to know...the truth. Did my brother really died on that day? Is there something you're not telling us?"

Suzaku was glad that his mask shielded his expression. It was a question he was not too sure of himself. Lelouch had planned to kill himself in the end which was the reason why he agreed to help as payment for the sins he had caused. He knew Lelouch well enough.

And he was the one who stabbed him. Lelouch's blood was on his hands. But perhaps Geass still existed? Perhaps Lelouch was given the code, which may have caused him to become immortal. Maybe C.C. had given it to him, as he knew she desired to be mortal once again. And perhaps Lelouch, seeing the threat presented against the world he created decided to fight to protect his younger sister under a different alias? It made more sense especially seeing his battle-tactics however there were quite a number of differences between the two. He remembered the meeting with the leaders of the Black Knights.

_**A day ago**_

"Thank you all for coming." Kaguya Sumeragi announced, to the assembled men and women sitting around the conference table.

On the left, were the representatives from the United Federation of Nations and the Order of the Black Knights. First from the left was the Black Knight CEO, Li Xingke, former General of the Chinese Federation Armed Forces, a tall lean man with long black hair, clad in a brown duster with his Chinese longsword ever at his side.

Beside him was Kaname Ohgi, Prime Minister of the United States of Japan a man with the face that matches more of a school teacher rather than a politician. On his right was the Black Knight General Kyoshiro Todoh, a stern looking man dressed in black and green, clearly a veteran of many battles.

On his left was the well respected Ahmad Kayrallah, a bearded senior representative of the Middle East Union and Manfred Stemmer, a German minister representing the European Union. Finally on the side was Senator Saidani Ryoma, the Japanese representative in the UFN a studious looking man in his early thirties.

On the other side were senior leaders of the Empire with Prince Schenizel, Prime Minister of Britannia in the centre, Princess Cornelia, Commander in Chief of the Imperial Army dressed in the white and maroon uniform with Lord Gilbert Guilford, Commander of the Imperial Guard and the Princess's personal knight at her side beside him.

"What is the meeting for, Chairman?" Cornelia asked.

"It is on the discussion of a possible return of Emperor Lelouch." She pressed a button and revealed the face of a young man with white hair.

"What?" Ryoma shouted.

"By the Prophet." Kayrallah muttered.

"Impossible." Guilford murmured.

Similarly all around muttered the out their astonishment as a lean young man dressed in a blood red and black tailed coat with gold trims all around. On his shoulder and collar was a golden dragon. He wore long dark trousers with a yellow stripe along it ending with long riding boots. On one of his hips hung a well tooled black and gold pistol, a variant version of the standard army version, including the red-dot sight and a straight bladed sabre rested on the other. Over the uniform he wore a black cloak embalming the same golden dragon.

"His name is Captain Arthur Peregrine, a knight and commander of the Bedford Household." Kaguya explained as the red-coated knight strode gracefully across the path along the Imperial Gardens. His movements were fluid almost catlike and both the Palace and Royal Guards he passed stood straight in attention as soon as he passed treating him as if he was a prince.

"Ladies and gentleman, this man is also the very Red Knight who had saved the Empress of Britannia from an assassination attempt not a few days ago." The chairman of the UFN continued as all eyes were focused on the young knight.

"Do you know his background?" Stemmer asked. Kagyua shook her head.

"All we know is that he is of Britannian blood."

"Nothing else? This sounds too much of to be a coincidence." Xingke's eyes narrowed at the silver haired figure. "I don't buy it. The world is once again in danger of war and a mysterious figure appears out of nowhere seemingly to defeat the enemy."

"I agree." Todoh nodded. "Still we cannot just condemn him after what he has done. He did after all deal this pro-Darwinist movement a huge blow something which no other single man have been able to do."

"In the name of the heavens..." Ohgi muttered. "He looks completely like him. As if his very ghost was walking..." The knight suddenly stopped and turned to look around until he was directly looking at the camera. His eyes were sky blue and they suddenly narrowed dangerously.

"Heh...even the demonic glare completely identical." Cornelia muttered under her breath. Arthur Peregrine then slowly turned and walked on.

"Indeed." A hollow voice spoke up as from the shadows a masked and cloaked figure in black and violet appeared.

"Zero," Kagyua bowed. "We're grateful for you to join us."

Zero turned and nodded respectfully before turning to the rest of the council. "While we discuss the possibility of this man's being the demon emperor, I have recovered some interesting data which you will all find interesting."

The masked knight took out a USB flash drive and slotted in the computer.

An image of the white haired Lelouch appeared on a file which was listed as restricted under death penalty.

**Subject****: G2345195Y**

**Birth Name****: Arthur Britannius Peregrine**

**Parents****: Aaron and Ellenia Peregrine**

**(Status: Deceased)**

**Occupation****: Britannian Military**

_**Lieutenant of the Royal Panzer Infantry's 21**__**st**__** Regiment**_

_**Knight of the Empire**_

_**Supreme Commander of the Northern Skies Army**_

_**Captain of the Royal Guard**_

_**Imperial Agent**_

**Biography:**

_**Sir Arthur Britannius Peregrine, the only child of Lord Aaron and Lady Ellenia of the House of Peregrine, joined the Britannian military at a young age in order to serve his father's name. Arthur has served with the 3**__**rd**__** Britannian Army in North Africa and fought the Euro-Ultra Union on three separate occasions as part of the Imperial Black Ops unit: the Britannian Foreign Legion serving with distinctions. **_

_**After gaining the rank of knight, Arthur was given command of an elite unit of airbourne Gloucesters which became known as the Red Devils due to the Peregrine Household's colours. However, on the 17**__**th**__** of June 2017, both Lord Aaron and Ellenia were assassinated under mysterious circumstances. With their deaths, Arthur blaming the Empire turned rogue and led a rebellion in Area 2, the Land of the Northern Skies. The revolt was brutally crushed by the might of the Imperial Army and Arthur was capture and detained.**_

_**Later in 2018 where Emperor Lelouch took the Britannian throne, Arthur along with many others was released and pledged their loyalty to him. Arthur was granted the command of the Britannian forces stationed in the Imperial Colony of Canada and remained to be one of Lelouch's greatest supporters. Using his newfound powers, Arthur brutally crushed the rebellious nobles that stood against Lelouch.**_

_**Due to the similarity of their appearances, Arthur has also became an invaluable service in playing the role of a decoy for His Imperial Majesty.**_

_**During the UFN-Britannian War, Arthur led the armies of Britannia in defence of the Homelands against the European divisions of the Black knights resulting in the Battle of Alaska...**_

_On the screen appeared a huge mass of ice and snow where a massive force of black and grey uniformed infantrymen with their tricone hats and long cloaks, rows of black-grey tanks and finally the skies littered with groups of aerial-cruisers and Knightmares. Forty thousand eyes stood attention before a landed Logres-class battleship. A single crimson and silver Vincent Commander Model with a black cloak zoomed pass and before them and in an astray of fanciful flying the blood-coloured Knightmare straightened and landed on the head of the Logres. The cockpit of the Knightmare opened up, revealing a pilot dressed in an elaborated white and red jumpsuit with a rounded helmet that ended with a visor which all the soldiers wore._

_The commander drew out his sword and raised it high gaining cheers from the massed group._

"_Soldiers of Britannia!"_

"_Brave knights of Albion!"_

"_Swords of the Empire!"_

"_Hear the call of our emperor! Arise now!" The sea of black-white clad soldiers with lines of violet and black of Knightmares and other armoured units cheered. Arthur waited for the noise to echo before raising his hand for silence._

"_The enemy lay before us, on many battlegrounds scattered all over the world and it falls to us to defend this nation, this Empire. To defend the honour of our king! The traitorous Black knights and their allies seek the death of Lelouch, the one true ruler of the world! They seek to end everything we hold dear! But we will not permit it." The sea of men clad in white and grey, standing in perfect lines cheered madly with shouts of "Death to the traitors!" and "All hail Lelouch!"_

_Arthur waited for them to quiet. "At this moment, our glorious Emperor fights in the Imperial Colony of Japan against the bastard __Schneizel and his dog shit allies. He has commanded us to hold the line here in Atlantic against the invasion of Britannia. This will not be permitted! This will not happen! The enemy may outnumber us at least five to one! But our Emperor watches over us, my brothers and sisters! You men wear the watchful eye of Lelouch Vi Britannia!"_

_He nodded down, allowing the sun to catch his visor presenting a winking sign. "These motherless dogs have dared to rise against Lelouch...and for that they will pay for it with their very souls! Forward to battle, Knights of Lelouch! Take no prisoner! Give no mercy! Britannia will PREVAIL!" The entire force assembled roared over and over, their cheers becoming more intensified at every shout._

"_Bring to me the heads of their commanders...LITERALLY! They will be set as an example for anyone who dares threaten our beloved Emperor!"_

_With that Lord Arthur Peregrine raised his fist in the air and shouted __with every inch of his being.__ "ALL HAIL LELOUCH!"_

"_ALL HAIL LELOUCH! ALL HAIL LELOUCH! ALL HAIL LELOUCH!" The warriors of Britannia roared fists of both Knightmare and human rising in the air over and over again like an angry ocean._

"I don't remember any record of this battle," Stemmer muttered, rubbing his moustache.

"And no surprise." Xingke muttered.

_**The battle had resulted in the destruction of about a quarter of the Britannian forces and the complete annihilation of the entire invasion force.**_

_An image of a burning battleground flashed before them with broken Knightmares and blooded bodies along pools of water with many craters and pools of over-flooding waters. A crashed _Logres _lay in the snow surrounded by a cluster of broken _Akatsuki_. At one point about at least eight hundred _Panzer Hummels_, _Bamides_, _Gun-Ru _and tanks remained buried in the snow in the centre of the battlefield. At another, about a thousand Knightmares mixture of _Akatsukis_, _Panzer Hummels_ and their commander models lay motionless surprisingly intact except for the massive holes in their cockpits which were literally coated red with blood._

"Horrible." Ohgi muttered in disgust as one _Akatsuki _was zoomed in to see what remained of the pilot.

_The remaining battlefield showed more or less the same results._

_The crimson _Vincent _itself stood victoriously in the centre of the battlefield surrounded by a group of _Akatsuki _Commander Models, all in pieces lying around. Pools of blood lay out of their cockpits which all seemed to have been stabbed or crushed._

_The Red Knight himself stood out of his Knightmare walking down the parading soldiers chanting._

"_All hail Lelouch! All hail Lelouch! All hail Lelouch!"_

_He did not smile nor open up his visor but continued his stride until he reached a line of men dressed in ragged uniforms held at sword point by a company of cloaked soldiers._

_The foremost of the prisoners, a massive man built like a bear stood up._

"_You have defeated my forces, commander," The officer declared in a heavy thick Russian accent. "And I..." He was cut off as Arthur threw a punch into the man's face. Despite the size difference, the Black knight staggered from the blow and his companions tried to rise to help only to be pinned back by their captors. As the Black Knight Commander staggered back, Arthur walked towards him and waited for the man to recover before punching the man in the gut._

"_Ogf!" The Black Knight groaned as all the air was struck out of him. Arthur then coldly walked slowly around in a circle before grabbing the man's wrist with a gloved left hand. The Russian officer's hand was almost twice the size of the Britannian commanders but he screamed in pain as Arthur's hand slowly squeezed it before a crunching sound echoed to the entire battleground. With that, Arthur slammed a booted foot in the man's neck. The blow was not strong enough to barrel the larger man but it broke the man's neck and the Black knight coughed violently._

_Arthur allowed his wheezing voice be heard by everyone present, walking around the man slowly._

"_Let this be the example to those who would stand against the Emperor..." Arthur muttered. He went down on one knee to look at the officer's face closely and despite the weakness, the officer spat at him._

"_Brit scum!" He managed. The soldiers around Arthur reacted by cocking their guns or drawing their swords but the red knight signal them down._

"_Typical behaviour of the savage rebel." Arthur mused as he got back to his feet._

"_Before anything else happens," He declared. "I would like to say that we have won a great victory for Britannia and our glorious Emperor!"_

"_Huzzah!" The men roared triumphantly._

"_And that His Majesty's faith must never be shaken! For his word is the truth! And thus I will follow that example!"_

_Arthur turned and walked over to the prisoners and grinned at the maliciously._

"_I've always keep my word. And what did I say?" He asked to no one in particular. "Oh right, your heads..."_

_Some of the Black Knight Officers suddenly startled._

_Arthur ignored them and walked to the Russian commander of the invasion force._

"_You know, I must admit, you really are a good tactician and a great leader, General Veyde. You have my respect." Arthur spoke the words in what seems to be sincerity._

_Arthur allowed his words to echo and walked in front of the general. Then Arthur turned._

"_But all enemies of the Emperor... MUST DIE!" And before anyone could blink an eye, Arthur's sword flashed before the sunlight and the general's head was flying over..._

_Then as one, the soldiers drew out their swords and plunged their blades into their prisoners...and were slain like lambs._

"He is as brutal as Lelouch himself!" Ryoma shouted. "He should stand for trial for all those lives!"

"But that was war back then. He may have been just following orders." Todoh reminded the Japanese senator. "Remember this is Lelouch we're talking about. He would twist the heart and soul of many to serve his bidding." Despite his words, the Japanese commander's eyes held a shadow of regret.

"I agree." Guilford nodded. "Regardless, we cannot put him in trial as yet. Besides, I have heard of the Peregrine line. They were close cousins to the Ashfords who swore loyalty to the Vi Britannia line. He likely served from brother to sister."

"Maybe," Kayrallah muttered. "But who is to say he will not turn his back on the UFN. And as you said it yourself General Todoh, this is Lelouch. Who is to say he tricked everyone and assumed a new identity to get his revenge?"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Ohgi argued. "Lelouch had everything under his control back then. Why would he abandon everything just like that?"

"Because he was aiming for world peace?" Kagyua suddenly muttered, causing everyone to turn to her. "Oh, nothing. Forgive me. This is a very tense situation."

"Regardless of the reason," Cornelia spoke allowing her strong commanding voice to project. "What is important now is what are we going to do about it?"

"I agree," Schenizel muttered, speaking for the first time. "Whether he is Lelouch or not, his intent is clearly unknown. Right now, it would be best not to create an enemy out of him. He is on our side at the moment and we should put to use of it to the maximum. Lord Zero, with your permission, I would have one of our men attached to his unit."

"Very well." Zero nodded. "Thus as of this moment, no one is to touch or even threaten Arthur Peregrine."

**Back to the present**

"Suzaku?" Nunnally's voice returned the Japanese knight back to reality. The younger girl stared at the masked hero, her vivid purple eyes...so similar to Lelouch and Euphie never leaving his face.

"I don't know Your Majesty. Lelouch gave his life to bring peace. He has no regret. I don't know who this man is."

"I hope you're wrong though." Nunnally muttered softly. "Whether he's brother or not, I would like to talk to him."

"He could very well be an assassin," Zero reminded her.

"And you will protect me if he was." Nunnally replied, causing Suzaku to blush underneath his mask suddenly then replied.

"Of course."

* * *

**Two days later in the Throne Room**

Nunnally stood sitting on the Britannian throne flanked by Zero on the left and Schneizel on the right. The Knights of the Round stood on the sides, dressed in their full uniform with their swords sheathed at their sides and their pistols in their holsters.

The other senior generals and other commanders stood alongside the royal knights while the Palace Guard stood along the red carpet, their ceremonial pikes held high in salute. The red-coated royal guards stood on the walls, their weapons concealed but readied while the Secret Intelligence Service Agents mixed around the crowd.

"Presenting His Grace Lord Bernard Bedford and his Household commanders." The herald announced.

Kallen suddenly exhaled almost losing herself.

"Whoa, Kallen, are you alright?" Gino asked. The Knight of Three had just returned from the frontlines in Texas once he had heard the attack in New Pendragon along with Anya. In the mean time, Willard the Knight of Seven was left to take care of the battle.

"I'm fine." She assured him but Kallen knew it was a lie. How could she be alright? She was going to see Lelouch's ghost again. She's been seeing it far too many times already. Has she gone finally mad?

"_Stop it Kallen!"_She mentally snapped at herself. _"You're stronger than this! If this is Lelouch then many questions could be answered...if it isn't you will now know more of Lelouch's plans anyway._"

Kallen was explained by Norrentte about the theory of Arthur that he had served Lelouch as a royal guard as well as one of his frontline commanders.

"This is it." She muttered.

"Yeah, I've been looking forward to meet him." Gino whispered, cheerfully. "Heard he could fight as well as a Knight of the Round."

Then the door opened and a tall man of middle age entered, dressed in blue and gold with a bastard sword at his side. He had an aquiline face with a short beard and gray hair and stern but wise gray eyes. He looked every bit of a veteran commander and the lower ranking guardsmen had no trouble saluting to him.

Beside him two figures followed. Both were on the contrary dressed in crimson and black uniforms with straight-bladed sabres at their sides and a short black cape. The taller one on the flank was a young man of early twenty with blond hair and friendly looking face. His companion, a slightly older young man was a head shorter, bronze coloured skin with the look of a mix-heritage although his Britannian side was more dominant. Despite his height, his built was stronger than that of his blond friend.

"Where's the red knight?" Kallen heard some people muttering. "I thought he should be here?"

"Is he still wounded?"

Then all of a suddenly, a fourth figure entered and the entire assembled crowd gasped as one.

A young lean man gracefully entered the room as if he owned the floor. His jet-black cloak bearing the golden lion flowed behind him like a possessed lover. Inside the cloak was a similar uniform to the nobleman's flanking knights but the red was much more vivid and shinning.

His face was stern but otherwise showed no emotions at all, his white mane flowed down his handsome face. The face of Lelouch...

"Is it him?" Some whispered.

"Lelouch's back from the dead?"

"Is that his twin?"

The Empress herself was so shock that she stood unmoving. Kallen herself was no exception.

Then behind Arthur were two other knights dressed similarly to him wearing shorter capes and wielding straight bladed sabres. These warriors wore steel helmets with white plumes.

Arthur eyed the assembled nobles and leaders with not a little disgust and his dislike for them seem to be obvious. His eyes particularly narrowed at Schneizel and Zero. But as they turned to the Empress sitting on the throne, they changed at once and looked at her with high respect if not adoringly which surprised Kallen.

"_Lelouch..."_ Kallen whispered not for the hundredth time already.

They approached the throne slowly and as one knelt before the Empress.

"It is truly an honour to be at your presence, your Majesty." Lord Benard spoke, his voice held high respect and deep loyalty.

Recovering from her shock, Nunnally nodded. "Please rise." The Empress answered and to her credit steadied herself. She was particularly staring at the ghost of her brother who had lowered his head so that no one could see his face. As he rose, 'Lelouch' smiled at the young Empress, a smile so familiar that Nunnally could feel tears crawling in her eyes.

"Brother..." She whispered silently. Zero looked at her worryingly then decided that he needed to be the one to speak in her stead.

"Lord Bernard, the Crown of Britannia owes you and your knights a great debt for what had happened last night." Suzaku spoke, spreading his arms out in a Zero fashion like how Lelouch would have done.

Kallen noticed that 'Lelouch' as soon as Zero had spoken fallen back to his cold harden demeanour which he held when entering, glaring daggers at the masked knight.

"You flatter us, Lord Zero." The veteran knight returned. "We have done nothing but served the crown."

Then Zero turned to the black cloaked knight. _"Lelouch...is that really you?"_

"And this must be the famed Scarlet Saviour we have heard much about. Many lives were saved thanks to you."

Arthur smirked half-way then just inclined his head otherwise showing no sign of emotion at all but Kallen thought she saw him rolling his eyes in annoyance.

His disrespect for Zero caused many Black Knight senior officers as well as many Imperial nobles to grimace at the knight.

Suzaku decided to ignore them and continued. "You have done a valuable service and I would ask for your support in the future not just for the sake of Britannia but for the peace of the world. You understand that victory here is not just for the power of the crown but for the good of the people."

Bedford nodded. "Aye. And we shall pledge our full support to the Britannian Crown." The cobalt clad knight bowed followed by the other knights.

All except for Arthur. Murmurs of disapproval spread amongst the crowd.

The knight instead stood still and walked nearer to the throne. The Knights of the Round at once surrounded the Empress, their swords and pistols ready to draw out. Kallen stood right in front of his path, her hand on her Britannian styled katana ready to draw out...that is until Arthur glared at her with those icy blue eyes and Lelouch's face appeared in front of her. At once she faltered, her grip on her sword loosen at once.

"Damn, I had a feeling it was too good to be true." Gino muttered at the knight as he spread a protective arm around Nunnally. But Arthur ignored him as well as the other knights.

"Arthur what the hell...?" One of Bernard's knights muttered.

"Your highness," The Red Knight started his voice so similar to Lelouch that it shocked the royal knights. "I will announce it here and now that my bloodline has served your family since Lady Marianne had become one of the Rounds and that I'm the last of my line. My father said his greatest failure was to unable to protect yourself and your mother. As his pledge remains untaken, it would be my greatest honour to take it. Whether in my life and even if death, I would protect you until I have drawn my last breath."

Arthur fluttered his cloak with a graceful hand and fell down to one knee with one hand on his heart. "For by Blood and Honour I serve."

His proclamation startled everyone around and the tension had disappeared in the mist. Nunnally was lost for words. Arthur looked up and stared into the young Empress' eyes. Despite her shock, Nunnally saw that he wanted to talk to her in private.

"Thank you for your support." She finally replied, changing her demeanour. "With your help, there is no doubt we can bring peace back to this land. And now, please everyone return to your work. I would like to talk to Sir Arthur in private."

As the other knights and senior officers left the room although not without glancing at Arthur for more than once, Kallen stood still unmoving as the Knights of the Round took their turn to leave to leave Nunnally and Zero alone with the red knight.

"Kallen?" Gino asked, nudging the crimson stressed woman. "Come on."

"It's alright, Sir Weinburg," Nunnally said. "She can remain here."

Arthur turned and grimaced at the Knight of Two but otherwise said nothing.

Once it was made sure that no one was in the room, Arthur approached the throne room and knelt lowly before her.

"Sir Arthur, I know it is rude of me to say this but I must know what your true attention." Nunnally suddenly spoke sternly surprising both Zero and Kallen.

Arthur however remained unfazed and his face softened. "My real reason here is to protect you, Your Majesty. I served your brother, Lelouch Vi Britannia and I swore to him before his death that I would protect you till the end."

Nunnally's eyes widened. "You knew my brother?"

"I know everything including the Zero Requiem." He turned and glared at the dark figure standing. "And I had asked him for me to take his place on the sword so that he would live but he told me that he wanted me to live and protect you. I could not deny the duty."

The Empress of Britannia was now confused. She wanted to think he was Lelouch but now he had declared that he had _served_ her brother rather than being Lelouch himself. But he bore the same face...

"Yes, I know. My face..." Arthur nodded. "I am not worthy of it but Lelouch needed a double. I took the honour to take up the role."

That explained much but there was a lot of unanswered questions. Suzaku did not buy it. He had to talk to CC about this later. But now Zero was needed here.

"Without a doubt, by your aid, this war would be over."

Arthur's face at once changed, no longer soft and caring. "I did not say I was going to help you, dark knight. I swore to protect the Empress not fight this war for you."

"It is the Empress' wish for this war to end." Kallen spoke out, to defend Nunnally managing to muster enough strength to protect the sister of her lover.

The knight turned and smirked at her...the same annoying smirk that often pissed the hell out of Kallen.

"I do not deny that our goals are similar, Black Knight." He said coldly. "But I give myself to only the Empress' word. Not the Empire. Not the UFN. Never forget that."

Nunnally suddenly felt the tension between the three different knights and spoke out. "I believe it has been a long day. Sir Arthur, your loyalty brings warmth to my heart and the evidence that my brother was not the demon people were made believe. I would like to withdraw to my chambers."

"Sleep well, Your Majesty." Arthur returned softly, his voice and facial features changing once again. "Know that, your brother would always be with you..."

Nunnally beamed at the white haired knight and Zero stepped in to take the wheel-chair to out of the throne room.

Arthur bowed deeply to the Empress, and turned to Zero with a mocking nod and completely ignored Kallen.

Kallen followed the knight out of the room and shouted. "Wait!"

Arthur stopped and without looking back asked. "What do you want?"

"You really served Lelouch?" Kallen's voice was soft and uncertain.

"What of it?" He asked, coldly. "If you think I'm going to turn my back on Her Majesty then you're wrong. I always keep my word, Black Knight. But then again, I can't expect the likes of you to understand that."

Kallen flinched from the taunt, her temper rising despite herself. "What is that supposed to mean?"

But Arthur ignored her and walked off quickly muttering. "Bloody-traitor..."

It was more of a whisper but Kallen heard it and she felt a sharp needle piercing through her heart as Arthur's white hair turned black for a second as the words came out.

He just called her a traitor...?

"Lelouch...what are you trying to do..." She muttered, her voice filled with hurt and disbelief.

**That's all for now, folks. I've got my promotional exams in the next 4 weeks so wish me luck. I'll update once it's over. Thanks for all your support guys. I didn't expect this fanfic to reach this stage. Thanks for everything. Oh and you can find some more info on this link for the storyline. I'm still updating though. **.com/wiki/When_Fates_Converge

**Take care! And please drop more reviews! :P**


	17. Chapter 3: Return?

**Sorry for taking so long. But I just finish my exams. YAY! I'll be using a different style of writing from this chapter onwards. Please have a look at it and see which one's better.**

**Other than that, read&review. ^^**

Lelouch took the book uncertainly from the Knight and opened the page he was given to look at gasped. A figure with blond hair in gold armour with a crimson cloak stood on a white horse with red armour waving a sword in front of an assembled army. But it wasn't what so shocked Lelouch, it was the warrior's face. There was no mistake. It was his own.

Before he could do anything, everything suddenly changed around him. Images began flowing him again, the bright lights of the World of C dimmed down, becoming darker and darker until a flash of lightning cut through the darkness.

Suddenly he could feel the rain falling on his shoulders and hair, soaking his body and clothes quickly. He was in a forest now. It was not Britannia nor in any country in Asia. With practice eye, Lelouch quickly recognised the place. He was in the British Isles...the long lost homeland of his people.

"**You will experience the true destiny of your birth."** The Knight's voice rang in his mind. **"As your ancestor himself..."**

_Lelouch could feel his heart pounding like never before so excited yet so frightened by the responsibility he would need to bear for the rest of his life.__ He was dressed in his finest garments, gold and black armour, a glittering red tunic with the golden dragon on it shinning like a beacon and the royal crimson cloak fluttering like a possess lover._

_The young prince stood there kneeling before the golden throne, back grounded by a massive tapestry of red and black with the golden dragon of Camelot in the centre._

"Am I back in the middle ages?" Lelouch asked his mysterious escort. "I don't recognise their coat of arms but that dragon seemed to be oddly familiar..."

"**It is something you have known all along but have long forgotten. Now watch."**

_Beside the throne, the royal knights in great helms watched dressed in the crimson cloak of the king. Much of their armour was covered by the cloak and the helm completely enveloped the face other than eyes, hiding any sort of facial expression.__ Lelouch knew this was done on purpose so it would intimidate the pensioners. Under the cloak, the prince knew that the warriors were gripping on their swords and shields; ready to bring them out as soon as they think the king was being threatened. Even if before him was his only son..._

_Despite himself, he found being in the presence of these royal knights extremely unnerving and Lelouch found himself turning back to look at familiar faces. A group of younger knights and men-at-arms watched him proudly dressed in their ceremonial armour of gold and silver with the same crimson cloaks.__ Many of the others were noblemen and higher ranking commoners. Lelouch thought enviously of how simple their lives were compared to him and how he had missed the times he had lived as a commoner before pulling out the sword in the stone._

"Sword in the stone...Is this...?" Lelouch noted.

"**Yes. The one and only..."**

"_Arthur Pendragon__!" A strong and intimidating voice called out. Lelouch at once turned to face the throne. An extremely tall and powerfully built man stood before him dressed in the gold and scarlet royal robes of the kingdom completed by the golden crown._

"_Do you solemnly swear that you would govern this kingdom and its dominions according to the laws, statues and customs lay down by your forbearers?"_

_Lelouch swallowed slightly and replied._

"_I swear, sire."_

_The king continued. "Do you promise to practice mercy, justice and honour throughout your reign both in the times of war as well of peace?"_

"_I do, sire."_

_His father gave a knowing smile for a brief moment before handing out the royal mace that symbolise the status of the crown prince._

"_Then do you swear allegiance to the Crown of Britannia throughout your entire life?"_

_By now Lelouch was no longer frightened and took the mace and stood up speaking allowing his newfound confidence to take over._

"_I so swear it, by my blood and honour to serve the people of Britannia regardless of ethnicity and swear to practice justice and honour."_

_The King nodded. "Rise Arthur Pendragon, Crown Prince of Camelot and of Britannia..."_

"_Huzzah!" Both nobles and commoners cheered raising their fists in the air, shouting or simply clapping._

**Back in New Pendragon**

Suzaku sat down leaning back on the deep violet chair, staring at the monitor screen of Arthur Peregrine...or rather the _Ghost of Lelouch_'s personal profile. Many of it did not make any sense to the Japanese knight. There were many gaps in his life. Too many gaps. A distinguished Britannian knight who turned rogue then who then became a royal guard commander under Lelouch who led his armies that caused so much havoc on the Black Knights...if such a warrior had existed, how is it that he never knew of it? Lelouch would have used him against the Schneizel. He knew Lelouch long enough that the dead Emperor would use utilise all resources he possesses.

Perhaps, Lelouch wanted someone to look after the world just in case things might go wrong? He did always have a backup plan.

But if he did, then why did Lelouch not tell him about it?

However there was also another possibility that Arthur would be Lelouch's clone, created by the Geass Directorate. Suzaku had no doubt that the attack on New Pendragon was their doing and that they may even be the ones who started the whole civil war. It made sense.

How else would it be possible for the Purists to control the majority of the Britannian Army? Hadn't Lelouch made sure that the nobles would not stand against the new Empress? Hadn't he taken out any form of threat to his sister's new nation?

"Geass..." Suzaku whispered to himself. "It could only be Geass..."

This meant that the enemy he was fighting against was far more dangerous than he had thought earlier. It would also mean that the enemy was not just in Britannia.

Whatever it was, Geass had returned and with it came Arthur Peregrine. He could very well be an agent of the Directorate to come in as a hero before killing the Empress and destroy the empire from the inside.

However, Arthur seemed to be far too loyal to Lelouch to be such a thing. It was obvious during their meeting from his responses. While it may be an act, Arthur's words to Nunnally sounded truly honest and he did almost die trying to protect her...

And there was something else about this Arthur that doesn't seem to be right. Not only did he share Lelouch's face but his battle-tactics as well...while it took some time for Suzaku to understand, he recognise the patterns...only that he himself was more than capable of fighting on his own...he did not need fighters like himself or Kallen anymore. And while some would argue that it could just be a matter of coincidence as Lelouch's strategies were ever complicated...Suzaku knew Lelouch better than many. And also he noted of the red knight's fighting style. He was a skilled fighter, that was obvious but he was also a master manipulator where he would make use of everything around him, including the soldiers as well as the terrain.

That battle against the Black Knights was obvious. Suzaku later found out from other records that Arthur had used the ice of Alaska to his advantage. He had also tricked them into landing their forces in the snow where he had cleverly used sensor shielded platforms under the ice to make the ice seemly thick enough to land. Unaware, the Black Knights and their EU allies landed. Then once their forces had landed, he activated the platforms to disperse and dump their entire vanguard into the sea.

Then slowly he used some units to force them into entering into the ice-lands. Making them think that the battle was on their side, until it was too late. Once the bulk of the invasion force had arrived, Arthur had let loose of an avalanche which wipe out almost half their standing forces.

Once the enemy commander realised that the whole place was a trap, it was far too late. Battleships and Aerial-Cruisers of the Royal Navy and the Britannian Armada turned around and blocked all escape. Then and only then did the Britannian army showed itself.

The survivors would easy prey for his army.

"It's too similar..." Suzaku thought more than once. "But it can't be..." He stared at his hands. The hands that wielded the sword that struck Lelouch the fatal blow.

"_You will be a hero..."_ Lelouch had said.

Suzaku realised that he may need to find out more from Arthur. He would have to talk to him. But another thought entered his mind as Suzaku put on his sword belt.

Does Arthur know who _he_ was? That the new Zero was none other than the Knight of Zero himself?

Maybe...and from his reactions, Arthur seemed to dislike if not loathe the Black knights. After all, if Arthur was truly loyal to Lelouch then he would consider the entire world to be his enemy...and that made him even more dangerous.

* * *

_**The Lyonese Villa**_

_**The Arfon Knights' new quarters in New Pendragon**_

**Above on the Third Floor of the Training Room**

Arthur stood watching through the window at the skies of New Pendragon. They were beautiful and reminded the warrior of the peace that his lord and master wanted to obtain. While it was successful, Lelouch had never been able to experience it and Arthur felt guilty about it.

He flexed his left hand which seemed to shiver on its own.

Arthur remembered that he had once served the Empire proudly, following the traditions of the ancient knights of Camelot. He was named after King Arthur himself by his father who ruled the people in his land with justice and humility. In his policy, everyone, regardless of number or Britannian must work together as one to create peace. He would tolerate no discrimination and encourage the roles everyone holds. He had so believed in the ideals of honour that Arthur willing join the military to do his father proud...until that very day.

A _terrorist_ attack...a terrorist they said...Arthur could feel the anger boiling in his chest at the very memory of it.

His mother, father, everyone else he had loved was taken away that very moment. Arthur was in New Scotia returning from a battle in Area 19 when he heard the news. Everyone knew it was done by the House of Perwell...a rival noble family but because of its close relations to the throne...it was utterly ignored and for his defiance against the royal family, he was stripped from his lands, titles and they were all given to their rivals the Perwell. Their family's favour like the Ashfords was lost since the death of Empress Marianne who his father had served.

Since everything he had cared for was gone, Arthur decided to lead a rebellion. He gained much support from his lands, the Britannians hunger for revenge while the numbers saw it as a chance for more rights. Regardless, Arthur had led the attack against the Imperial garrison in their lands, wiping them out in a few days.

The victory was short lived however when the Imperial Guard arrived. Despite their growing courage and determination, their old _Glasgows_ and _Centurion_ Tanks proved to be no match for the Imperial _Gloucesters_ and _Sutherlands_. Arthur was captured, tortured and tied for treason.

Had he been killed, things might have been better. But he was not. The Empire was far too cruel to do that.

Arthur, instead of being shot to death or hanged, was sent to the Geass Directorate science facility in the Chinese Federation where they used him and many others as human guinea pigs as part of experiments.

Arthur would never forget the pain he had endured at their hands but at the same time however, he had been drastically altered...

The red knight paused to take out the white glove on his left hand.

His palm then suddenly glowed soft blue as the Geass symbol appeared on it for a second. Arthur quickly put the glove back on before anyone could see it.

It had been the result of his experiment. He had be..._wired_...he was not like a cyborg like Jeremiah Gottwald but inside his body...his bones, and much of his nerve systems had been replaced. He was twisted into something like those experimental monsters in those old films. A Frankenstein. Many times he had told himself that it was just a dream, something he had gotten as a youth watching horror films and Mother would be there for him...

But this was no dream and his mother was dead, slain at the hands of these same people.

The Cultists wanted more Geass operators so thus they sought to bring all users into their fold, by force or otherwise. The Geass Enforcers, the branch that would do it for them was set out. Jeremiah Gottwald was intended to be the leader if he hadn't disappeared. Instead Arthur was made to do so. Before that however, they had to make sure that he was loyal to them. Thus they...Arthur could not think of a better word than _messed..._ with his mind.

But before his memory would be completely wiped out, came the attack.

Unknown Knightmares had entered the city that day, destroying everything, killing everyone who had anything to do with Geass.

Arthur, despite the damage on his mind, had realised his chance for escape had arrived, broke out, killing the scientists and guards with his newly given strength and burnt what remained of his torture chamber to the ground. He then escaped the desert with a stolen _Vincent_ and returned to Britannia, confused and disillusions where the experiments had damaged him...until he had finally arrived at the graves of his parents where everything returned to him.

He had thought to have gone insane back then, spent the months living near the graves of his family...until he met Lelouch. At first, he thought Lelouch was part of a nightmare, an evil version of him due to their similar features and tried to attack him but he was soon convinced otherwise. The Black Prince had offered him a chance to redeem himself and Arthur gladly took it. Arthur did not at first trust him, not just because they had looked extremely alike but because he had sensed something sinister about him however, the former knight had saw the chance to avenge his parents and comrades and agreed. Since then Arthur had acted as a double for Lelouch when he became Emperor or otherwise command his armies.

Arthur had thought to use Lelouch only as a tool for his vengeance which they both shared against the cruel Empire. The feeling was mutual as he knew that Lelouch only required him because of his skills and the same face they bear but Arthur later knew that despite having him for nothing but his own purpose, Lelouch had come to genuinely like him and Arthur too shared the feeling. He also learnt the sinister presence was a mask that hid a good heart.

Soon, Arthur was given in charge of a black ops unit and helped Lelouch crush any Geass threat left in the world while Lelouch went on with his plans. During that time Arthur studied more about the new emperor he had been serving and learnt that he was the son of the woman his father as a former SIS agent had sworn to protect and of how Lelouch had wanted to create a better world for his sister despite his characteristics of a selfish power hungry man. And finally his sacrifice to bring peace to the world, he had abandoned everyone he loved so that they would live content...

It...It was the most beautiful thing Arthur had ever known...Lelouch was like the real life version of the King Arthur he had so admired as a child...so self-less...so noble...

And thus, Arthur begged his master to take the place of the sword which Lelouch's bastard friend the Japanese dog, Suzaku was going to end his life with. But Lelouch refused and instead free him from his service. Arthur however could not allow it to end there and asked of what he would want...and asked him to use his Geass on him. Lelouch was hesitant but in the end inclined.

Arthur never knew what the command was...but he trusted the Emperor and since lived on the British Isles...away from war and away from everything else that connected to his past.

Then Grand Master Bernard appeared who asked him to join the Arfon Knights, to stop this new threat that was coming. Arthur was hesitant but when he saw many of those who once served Lelouch including his black ops unit and those who knew the _truth_ there, Arthur joined at once. Due to his independent nature, Arthur was given the rank of Commander and Captain of the Knights where he answered only to the Grand Master.

Arthur had his own personal suspicions on Bernard who seemed to know more about Geass than any individual he had encountered. He was likely a Code Bearer that was certain but he seemed to be more concerned with the world threat. Despite it, the mysterious nobleman was a powerful warrior in his own right and had been like a father figure to him ever since he had joined although he was not as gentle as his real father.

He absent traced the scar on his face, remembering the last lesson he was taught when Arthur had lost his temper in battle and fought rashly.

Later he recruited, Jeremiah Gottwald, a comrade in his services to Lelouch and the Japanese Sayoko. Arthur did not consider himself a racist but since the betrayal of Lelouch by the Black Knights, he found himself unable to_ not_ loathe the rest of the world especially the Japanese. He found that he detest them as much as he despise the nobles.

However, Sayoko proved to be as loyal as Jeremiah and all distrust washed away once he had learnt that she had sided with Lelouch over the Black Knights.

"Well, well, well! Here is the Ghost of Lelouch!" A very familiar jovial voice called. Arthur turned to see a lean thin, educated looking man with a cane dressed in a white scientist coat.

"I guess, your face had not been untouched yet...I wonder what they'd call you then-OW!" He was cut off as a file struck him on the back of his head.

"Sorry, Arthur. I know you were not a good mood but then again Lloyd is just Lloyd." Cecile Cloomy smiled at him.

Arthur gave her a half-smile and nodded. Those two had been the first ranks of the Arfon Knights outside their ranks followed by the scientist former Earl Lloyd and his assistance Cecile Cloomy, both brilliant engineers and inventors. They added the much needed technical support to the Order.

"Sorry about the Vincent Mark V. It was a great warhorse."

"Ah!" Lloyd exclaimed, startling both Arthur and Cecile. "Don't worry about it. The data from your battle had done much for your new Knightmare!"

"A new Knightmare?"

"Well...yes," Cecile blushed. "It was made just to suit your fighting style as well as your battle tactic."

"What's it called?"

"We don't know yet. But it's has a combination of the _Shinkiro _and the _Lancelot_."

"That sounds like a dangerous and expensive design. And may I ask how you obtain it?"

Lloyd shook a finger at Arthur. "Now, now, my dear redcoat. A good scientist never reveals his secret."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I see. So when will it be ready?"

"We're doing a few more minor tests. It should be ready by your next mission."

"That's good to hear." Arthur nodded. "If you'll excuse me, I have to start my training."

"That's all and fine, _King_ Arthur, but you must let me study your prowess one day! I think I have a theory..." Arthur grinned when he saw Cecile flexing her knuckles behind the former earl.

"Perhaps one day, Lloyd." He injected before the scientist gets another pummelling. "But for now, it's best that we are not seen together."

"Understood. We'll see you later in the hanger." Cecile nodded.

As they left, Arthur joined his fellow knights. Most of the junior knights were drilling under their various captains, whether in Knightmare or personal combat, while most of the higher ranking warriors were either practicing their sword skills or honing their Knightmare skills. Some especially the former Britannian military members were mainly preoccupied in the shooting range or with their Knightmares.

Arthur spotted Anduin and Harry duelling with the former armed with a straight bladed sabre and the latter with a small-sword.

As the knight commander approached, Harry had just knocked Anduin's weapon out of his hand despite wielding a lighter blade.

"You're still not familiar with your stance, Andy." Arthur commented as he retrieved the long sabre from the ground.

"Heh." The younger man grunted. "Give me a rifle or a pistol and I'll show you stance. I mean come on, man! I mean what's the point of using these blades. Now's the time where there's bullets flying everywhere. What good is a sword against a good old firearm?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"I see. So what's that pistol are you using?" The white haired figure asked, pointing at the weapon on his belt.

"This?" Anduin pulled the gray long barrelled side arm, with a red dot sight. Arthur recognised it at once.

"A GP Automatic pistol...Britannian Special Forces standard issue."

"It has served me well." Anduin remarked, handing it to his superior and friend. Arthur inspected it, feeling the barrel and the balance before handing it back. "It's a good weapon." He continued once the blond knight had taken it back. "Now shoot me."

"What?" Anduin was surprised. "I want to see how fast you can draw it." Anduin looked at Harry who stood just shrugged. "Ok." He paused to give Arthur time to be ready, then without warning in a blur of motion, he had his pistol out. The on lookers gasped at the speed of his movement. However despite it, the weapon did not feel right in his hand as he stared down the barrel, Arthur smirked at him. "Feel anything missing?"

The red knight held out a pistol magazine. Alarmed, Anduin quickly checked his weapon only to find out that he was holding a pistol without any bullets.

"What the..." Before he knew it, Arthur's sword flashed out knocking the pistol out of his hand and steadied the point at his neck. "You see, my young friend, a gun is only a weapon so long as you have bullets. Without bullets, all you have is a hollow metal barrel." He spoke out, making it clear to everyone present. Sheathing his sword, Arthur reached the fallen pistol.

"The reason why we learn the way of the sword is to teach us the balance. For without it, we are left vulnerable." The Ghost of Lelouch inspected the pistol again and slotted the removed magazine into the pistol and put on the safety.

"A gun is a deadly weapon." He admitted. "But like any other weapon, it has its limits. This goes to Knightmare combat as well." Arthur walked over to Anduin taking his hand and putting the pistol in the taller man's palm. "That is the main point of learning this."

Anduin inspected the pistol sombrely and nodded. Arthur turned to the other knights who likewise nodded and had gone back to their own training. Anduin turned to Harry then. "Well, then I'm ready for another round." He raised his sword.

Harry smiled but shook his head. "Maybe later. I've got to file in a report to the Grand Master."

"He's in his quarters." Arthur informed him. Harry respectfully nodded and walked off, sheathing his sword as he did. "What are you doing here anyway?" Anduin asked, leaning against the wall, the formality between the two disappearing. "I thought you'd be playing chess with the Grand Master." Arthur shrugged. "It turned out to be a draw anyway. And there aren't any other challengers around either."

"Yeah, no surprise." Anduin laughed. "Why don't you ask one of the Imperials or the Rounds?" At that the knight commander smirked but did not say anything. His reaction reminded the blond knight of something he wanted to ask earlier.

"There's one other thing I've been meaning to ask, what do you have against the Black Knights and the Empire?" Anduin asked. Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well," Anduin fidgeted. "You seemed to...uh..." He tried to think of a better word. "..._Dislike_ them for something."

Arthur turned to the door, gesturing him to follow.

"When I was young, my parents were murdered by the Empire," He began. Realising he had touched a sensitive topic, Anduin was quickly alarmed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." But Arthur ignored him. "Then I led a rebellion..."

"The rebellion at New Scotia?" Anduin remembered. "Yes. It was a massacre. After that I was captured and was used as a test subject for the Geass Directorate." They had crossed the mess hall and were now standing in one of the massive Imperial Gardens.

"Geass?" Anduin muttered. "That's something I'll never truly understand. When I first knew of it, I was thinking I'd gone mad." Arthur nodded. "They tortured me. Experimented on me...deformed me..."

"And Lelouch broke you out?" Anduin asked. Like all members of the Order, they were told of the real truth that had happened in the Great War. It was hard to believe but everyone was convinced of it. Arthur nodded. "After that I had entered his service...before the Black Knights betrayed him..."

"Huh? I don't understand. I thought Lelouch was a Britannian prince?"

"He was." Arthur corrected. "And he was the first Zero."

"Zero! You mean he fought the Empire?"

"Yes." Arthur nodded. "That was until the Black Knights betrayed him to Britannia for the return of their shit-ridden country of Japan."

"Japan? I thought you used to be fond of that country?" Anduin asked. "I used to think of them to be like another version of Arthurian Britannia...the one that's not controlled by a Darwinist frantic." Arthur spat. "Now I see that they're nothing more than bloody hypocrites. This whole world is corrupt. There is no honour left. Lelouch's sacrifice was not worth their bloody lives."

"I see." Anduin now understood his outburst of in the court as well as his other reactions.

* * *

From a reasonable distance, Harry Dunford watched his two younger companions walking off.

"What do you think about him?" A deep voice asked behind him from the darkness.

The bronze skinned knight turned to see the tall imposing figure in blue stepping forward.

"My Lord Bediv...I mean my lord Bernard." Harry bowed low as per protocol of a knight in front of his liege.

"Relax, Son of Palamedes." The blue-clad figure put a fatherly hand on the younger man. "Well...he's not the Arthur we know." Harry remarked, recovering. "There's no argument about that. He has his leadership style is completely different from the king. He's arrogant, snide, ruthless and self-centred."

"Yet?"

"Yet...He's..." _Harry Dunford_ was lost for words. "Inspiring...he knows the limits of his own Knightmare and abilities...yet he would always lead the attack on his own. That battle at Richmond...I've never seen anything like it. He had managed to predict the entire battleground and turned the tide with just his words and a few personal killings..."

"And now this..." The Arfon knight shook his head. "I've always thought those stories to be exaggerated but now I see them before my own eyes...I could barely believe the similarity between him and our very patron himself."

"Hmm...Perhaps it could be true after all these years." Bernard said. "I have wandered this world for centuries since Camelot fell with nothing but a good sword and an old promise... Perhaps...it has finally come to pass." "But my lord, what does Lelouch have to do with all of this?" The younger knight asked as the former Knight of Camelot walked into the darkness.

"That...even I do not know." Bedivere said. Harry knew that the ancient figure wanted to believe that was the case. After all, Sir Bedivere was known to be Arthur Pendragon's most loyal knight who stood by him even when the kingdom had been divided. But Harry however could not believe that Lelouch could really be Arthur, the cold-hearted Lelouch Vi Britannia was the descendant of benevolent Arthur Pendragon. He might as well as been son of that traitorous bitch Morgan le Fray! How and why did his lord and master was so insistence that, he did not understand.

"Have you examined the disk you got from Richmond?" The Grand Master asked as they entered his personal quarters. Harry nodded as he pulled out the small disk from his pocket. "We have. It contains a map to an old research facility." He stared at the silver device.

"But it's deep behind rebel lines. From what I've heard, it's held by the forces belonging to the House of Lambert. They've just recently rebelled against the throne after the assassination of the late James Lambert."

The old knight nodded. "Then tell Peregrine to assemble a team to invade facility." Harry's eyes widen. "But sir, I thought we were to engage the rebel army in Virginia? A quarter of the Rounds and all local forces have been rallied to battle them."

"I will be leading the Order. You and Arthur's men will go to Iowa."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Your status as a former Britannian army officer would help gain the trust of the Imperial loyalists who might get in your way. Plus, I need you to watch over him. I know you don't trust him but I assure you, he is the key in the upcoming war."

"It's not that I don't trust him." Harry protested. "At least I do in a battle...but...I just...feel that he's loose cannon. He has too much emotional traumas. He could very well bring down everything we've fought so hard in the past years."

"All the same," _Bernard_ replied. "I ask you to do this for me."

Harry fidgeted before finally nodding. Geass...the magic that links humanity, the power that grants individuals the power to manipulate the very existence of reality...the power he had dedicated himself to protect and destroy those who would abuse its power as an Arfon knight. It had begun centuries ago...long since the beginning of time...since the times of the Egyptians dominated the civilized world...since the times the Alexander's Empire reached its height...when Caesar's Legions roam the world... It had been the miracle, magic and in some cases the deity that many had spoken of in the legends and myths...the secret power that had been changing the fate of the history of humanity.

No one truly knew how it began not even to the Order of Arfon or the Geass Cult but all knew that there were six original code-bearers who had granted this gift...or curse to certain individuals. Legends say that these immortals were not even human to begin with...but while their identity was debatable, that they were connected to the very existence of humanity was clear.

After sometime, it was known that these immortals had passed down their code to different individuals. However, at the hands of the less experienced generations, they began to abuse their power and soon disorder scattered across all Geass-wielding factions creating massive wars across humanity. Some did not realise the consequences of their immorality and many were driven mad. Soon, several of code-bearers began experimenting this new power given to them creating many abominations that gave births to many creatures and stories only heard in legends. However, one code-bearer became disgusted with this monstrosity, departed away from it. Instead, the immortal decided to teach the new generations to use it for peaceful means. His name was...long forgotten until the Order had discovered was called...Myrddin Emrys...or... _Merlin_...

**Imperial Palace Gardens**

**

* * *

**

Zero spotted the red knight walking down a line of orchid trees alone, his black cloak following like a possessed lover. His crimson uniform was hidden under the mantle as was his sword.

Up close, Suzaku saw that Arthur did not just have a resemblance to Lelouch...it was more like he _is _Lelouch. Even the way he walked was like Lelouch, fluid and smooth like a born king. The only difference was the snowy white hair and the sky-blue eyes which he knew were both fake. The ghost of Lelouch walked on, pulling up his hood and occasionally pausing to look at certain flowers. Zero followed him, trying to figure out the best chance to approach him. He was not sure of the knight's reaction to him after considering the way he talked to them in the throne room. Plus, Arthur might as well be an agent of the Geass Directorate.

After looking at one of the rare and infamous black tulip from Holland, the black cloaked figure suddenly stood up and walked up to one of the shelters in the enormous gardens. As Zero followed him, the former Japanese knight saw the knight had walked differently. To an eye of a pass by there was no difference but Suzaku had grown up with Lelouch. He recognised that this was not the way he walked. Was he following the wrong person this whole time? Or was this a trick?

Then the hood fell back revealing a _blue_ haired man.

Then suddenly, he heard something cutting through the wind and Suzaku moved out to dodge the projectile which turned out to be a rock. It smashed itself into pebbles as the rock contacted against the wall. But before he knew it, Suzaku's _live on_ command suddenly forced him to jump away as a blur of red and black flashed behind him. Automatically, Suzaku's hand reached for his sword and drew the blade out as it contacted with a slashing sword. The impact was hard and it staggered him. Arthur then darted one side and lunged forward with a mighty thrust which might have skewered Suzaku had it caught him off guard. "Wait!" He shouted to the knight as he blocked another blow.

"I just want to talk!" Arthur's eyes narrowed at him as they stood blades crossing each other. After a pause, the white-haired Lelouch lowered his weapon. He turned away adjusting his cloak.

"What do you want?" He said, coldly as Arthur sheathed his weapon. Suzaku saw that the knight had a scar along one cheek, likely done by a sword. Whoever this was, he knew that this was a dangerous man for his live-on command to be activated like that. Whether it was because of his fighting skill or otherwise, he did not know though.

"I need to know," He began. "You claimed that you served Lelouch in the past."

"What of it?" His reply was curt. "You could always check the army records. Why do you bother wasting time coming down here just to ask me?" Arthur walked towards a bunch of red roses.

"Why? Because you want to make sure I'm not a spy? Or maybe you're just here to finish what you started with Lelouch? Or perhaps you think I'm Lelouch himself?" Suzaku kept his tone levelled.

"I'm just here to talk." He replied.

The white-haired Lelouch scoffed. "Well, then what do you want to talk about, dark knight?"

"Since you served Lelouch..." Zero began. "Then you would know what he desired?" At that Arthur gave a mocking laugh. "Of course I know."

"What is it then?"

"Why should I tell you?" Arthur snapped. "When you yourself was the one who led him on to this path?" Suzaku startled.

He knew. "So you know of the Zero Requiem?" He asked needlessly. At those words, Arthur's eyes narrowed and glared at him. "How could I forget? His voice became soft.

"The world lost an irreplaceable man." Arthur plucked out one rose. "_I_ was the one who should have taken that blade." He muttered, gritting his teeth. "He didn't deserve that death."

"Lelouch had his own sins to pay..." Zero said.

"Sins YOU made him commit!" The knight shouted. A sinister smile crossed his face as he felt the thorns of the rose.

"You're probably wondering why he never told you about me. Well, who could tell the man who constantly betrays those who trust him?" Suzaku flinched at the memories. Back then he had thought of only to become the Knight of One to free Japan.

"And to make YOU above all to be his replacement?" Arthur muttered. "I'll make this plain. I don't like you. In fact, I want to tell the world of how you manipulated him into becoming the world's enemy and skewer you where you stand!" He reached for his weapon, as if wanting to carry out the threat but relaxed as his hand touched the sword hint. "

However, I respect Lelouch." He paused to sigh. "He...wanted me to be free. I swore to him that I would protect the world he wanted." Suzaku saw that he seemed to be struggling with his words.

"We...can work together." He managed although not without great difficulty. "I respect him that much."

"But..." He added. "If you ever...ever betray his ideals..." Arthur's intense gaze made even Suzaku unnerved and could not do anything but stare into those sky-blue orbs.

**"I swear I will make sure you suffer a fate worse than death!"**

* * *

"My ladies and gentlemen," Zero announced to the assembled officers. He stood in front a huge map of Central Britannia. "I would like to give news on the current front. "After the assault on New Pendragon, the rebel forces have begun to press their attacks on all fronts. On the Western Front, rebel uprisings have doubled. Many of our loyalist areas are under attack by guerrilla and other units throughout Central Britannia and Princess Cornelia have reported that the southern rebels have gaining higher numbers."

"Our lines are already pretty stretched," General Alexandros muttered. "We've already sent a quarter of the Imperial Guard to the frontlines. And if that isn't bad enough, we have 50,000 men fighting against a 200,000 strong rebel force in Settle. They're good men. Loyal and brave but they're badly outnumbered and out gunned."

"The rebels in Texas have been stabilised." Gino reported. "But Anya and Willard are in Louisiana engaging another uprising." Guilford shook his head. "This is getting really bad. If this continues down, they'll overrun us for sure."

Zero nodded. "This is why I propose to launch an attack on the main enemy army..." He pressed a button and the screen zoomed into the Country of Illinois. "We sent the 3rd Division and join forces with the 205th in Kentucky and attack the rebel army in Illinois. If we can defeat the rebel army there, we will destroy the main rebel force in central area." As the military officers discussed the unit logistics, two figures dressed in the Black Knight officer uniforms of a long ebony duster whispered to each other.

"This is a perfect chance to do it." Said one of them.

"Are you sure of it?" His companion asked. "If we attack one of the Empress's..."

"Would you rather let see that Demon in the world again? It has to be done. I'll let Senator Ryoma know of the details. Stay here and monitor the Britannians, Captain."

"Hai. Commander Fiji."

* * *

**Two days later **

**In Illinois**

Warrant Officer Weber's unit was one of the patrols spread out through the prairie that littered the land. They were to seek and destroy anyone that come in authorised and made sure that Lord Lambert's allies were not to be disturbed. "Sergeant Lambson, report." He ordered as he drove his _Vincent Ward_ pass the prairie that left the plants dancing in its wake. His personal patrol consisted of five _Sutherlands_ and with two other groups of six Knightmares; they were spread out within about 500 metres of radius within each other.

"Nothing yet, sir. It's just like any day." The Sergeant spoke with a well recognised Texan accent. The lieutenant could understand. No one would ever think that a secret underground base would be hiding down under the middle of nowhere. For that reason alone, they would sent out small groups of Knightmares to patrol in order to prevent suspicion from the local population. Not that he really cared. The peasants were in their place and if they try to do anything funny...well...they could have some fun with their new Knightmares.

"You heard of the new _Vipers_?" He asked Lambson. "I heard they did a mighty fine job at the capital."

"Yes, sirrr." He drawled. "Those nasties sure did teach dem Imperials a lesson." Lambson grinned. "Show'em that we means serious."

"Well...what about the...wait. I'm reading something on my IFF screen." Weber turned to the screen which showed blank. "That's a negative. I'm not reading anything. Think you've been drinkin too much cow dung..."

"Negative. I swear I saw the image there."

"Damn it, Mutton! I was just getting my beauty sleep." One trooper muttered.

"False alarm." Weber sighed.

"Incoming!" One trooper muttered as several missiles struck his _Sutherland_ blasting the top portion of the Knightmare into dust. Another missile struck its companion destroying it in a single hit.

"Scatter!" Weber ordered as the surviving Knightmares spread out. He opened up to all rebel channels. "This is Daniel J. Weber of the 9th Patrol. We're under attack. I repeat we're under attack." He belatedly realised that all communications have been jammed and gritted his teeth as he fired his rifle at an upcoming missile. The_ Ward_ then moved in a zig-zag pattern to keep itself from getting hit.

"There it is!" One of the patrolmen shouted and fired its assault rifle joined by its companion. However, before Weber could even blink an eye several bolts of fire swept pass them and destroyed the two Knightmares.

"Damn it!" _Ward _then banked left and right to avoid the attacks. Did the locals get new hardware to use against them? His assessment was proven correct as he saw a lone tank firing its cannon at him. He dodge its fire and loosed his slash harkens at the base of the machine's chains sending it flying into the ground. He scanned the area for more enemy signature but found none and thus took this tank to be the main threat. Weber paused to scan the tank. It was indeed: a heavily modified _Centurion_ tank with several missile launchers on its sides. He would need to irradiate what's left of the tank before locals come. As he readied the explosives, another _Ward_ with a heavy lance arrived.

"Sir, are you alright?" The trooper asked. "I'm fine." Weber glared at the destroyed tank which probably squished its crew. "Get a detail to search for more hidden guerrillas."

"Yes, sir." The purple Knightmare moved behind Weber to cover its back.

"We'll need to report to the base personally. Someone has tempered with our communications system. There might be an attack on the operation...aragh!" He screamed as his spine shattered by an iron tip.

"Which is why you must die..." The other Ward pilot replied, pulling its lance out of the cockpit. As Weber's Knightmare exploded, the other Ward lowered its lance.

"Phase One complete, Lord Arthur." He said. "Commencing Phase Two."

* * *

*)^*&^ Haha! Cliff Hanger.


	18. Author's Note

**Forgive me everyone. I will be re-editing Chapter 4: Rising as I have recently released that I made some errors in the sequences of events.**

**I have been...well...to be blunt...emoing. 2010 has been a bloody hell of a year to me...and I've suffered pain that I had never expected and so many things had happened that had changed the course of my life. To release the pain, I focused on this fanfiction but instead of focusing on the story, I had been focusing on the events to release my pain.**

**For that I beg your forgiveness. It was also the reason why I had not been able to continue "My Queen". Heh, Lelouch and Kallen had been united there and it was time for them to heal their pain. But to heal their pain, I must heal my own. And I didn't want that.  
**

**As a son of a diplomat, I cannot reveal what are reasons but they have been deeply hurting me nevertheless. I too have worn the mask. Actually two masks to be exact. One a more cheerful and innocent face that wants everyone to be happy...the other...well...everyone has their dark side. I know I am a prideful person although to keep it in I put on a humble front and try to keep it that way. Heh, it is harder than I had thought. I guess that's the reason why I like Lelouch so much even though I initially despised him.**

**And through that time, I have made many errors and things I thought to be right had been wrong and now...my heart is filled with hate and bitterness...and dare I say it? Despair. Sometimes I wonder, how easy it would be to end it all, all that bitterness, all that pain with but...a single action.**

**But a good friend had convinced me that the only thing I will achieve is bringing sadness to those I love. She told me I was selfish...selfish that I was willing to end my own pain by hurting everyone else. Of course, she didn't slap me like Kallen did...heh, I'm glad I didn't try to kiss her though the thought had occurred to me.**

**However, she told me to as Lelouch said..."Live On" to Kallen. And at that moment I realised for the first time I might be in love...or correctly said...fell in love. I dunno. But whatever it was...I realised that brooding was not goin to help.**

**And this was one of the mistakes, I made.**

**I am really sorry. You guys on fanfiction net have been the friends and the fuel that makes me feel that I am not worthless and I thank you all for it. And thus, I must really ask you to forgive me. Chapter 4 will be re-edited and I will upload the next chapter on My Queen as soon as I can.  
**

**I give you my word that I will be give you a good story. Heh, I know I sound seriously arrogant, I think I am. It's a fault that I guess I must try to fix. Forgive me and thank you for your support.**

**The new chapter 4 will be uploaded right after this. Forgive me.  
**

**Arthurian knight**

**By Blood and Honour We Serve  
**


	19. Chapter 4: Rising

**Sorry for the trouble. I've re-edited and added the Chapter. It is different ending and storyline to the old one. And thanks for all your support, especially WZA. I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thanks. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Note: I changed the rating to M because of the violence and mature theme that will soon be seen. It's gonna get kinda gory but then again that is war.**

_It was his first battle. Lelouch was excited. Not one of those practice sessions. Not one of those chess matches. Not the mock melee tournaments but a real battle. News of the Saxons launching another invasion came to the court a few days after gaining the title of crown price. High King Uther decided that his son should lead the defence to put Lelouch's skills to the test. Lelouch had been honoured to be put in charge of such a large army despite the doubts of the aristocracy who were suspicious of his past as living as a commoner. But he will show those noble-born bastards what a real man can do._

_He stood on his white charger, wearing the black and gold armour given by his father completed with a crimson plumed helmet. Behind him were his chosen men, personally picked by himself creating his own staff and bodyguard: Launcelot, Gwaine, __Tristran__ and his former foster brother Kay._

"_Are we ready?" Lelouch asked his old friend Launcelot who stood beside him, his white and gold trimmed armour hidden by the ebony cloak of Prince Arthur's royal guard. Other than being one of the better knights of Camelot, the green eyed-brown haired youth was also Lelouch's old friend, adviser and lieutenant._

"**Suzaku?" The real Lelouch muttered in surprise seeing how similar Launcelot looked so much like his old enemy and friend. **

**His armoured companion chuckled. "Now you see that there's more to things than meets the eye..."**

**Lelouch nodded, noting again how Tristran looked vaguely like Gino Weinberg as well.**

_Launcelot turned and nodded. "Ready, sire."_

"_Alright," Lelouch signalled his staff to gather around him."You all know the plan, rally all company commanders. Sound the advance."_

_The herald nodded and sounded the horn. With the mighty blast, the army advanced forward from their resting positions. The heavy infantry: dismounted men-at-arms in mail armour wielding swords, maces, small study bucklers and Guardsmen with heavy spears, halberds and pike with kite shields marched in the centre while the light infantry: longbow and crossbow archers and levy troops with short swords and wooden shields marched behind them. The cavalry came from the sides wielding heavy lances riding heavily barded horses._

_As his forces moved in, Lelouch from his position on high ground saw the first banners of the enemy army approaching._

"_Be wary, sire." Launcelot warned. "These Saxons managed to destroy the Roman army at Mercia. We cannot engage them head on like..."_

_But Lelouch was already riding up. "The Saxons have arrived!" He shouted, drawing his sword out letting the dim light of dusk shine upon it._

"_Charge! For Came-lot!" Lowering his visor, Lelouch charged forward._

"_...that." Launcelot muttered as the prince charged off. "Damn it! What the hell is he doing?"_

_Tristran laughed and put a friendly hand on the young French knight's shoulder. "What he was meant to do! Come on!" The Cornish knight galloped his horse after the prince._

_Having no choice the rest of Arthur's bodyguard led the knights of his vanguard tried to follow him while the rest of the army struggled to move up the terrible cliff._

_The Saxons had already landed about three hundred men on the shore and were forming up when Lelouch caught them first. His first sword swing caught two men in the throat as his horse smashed into the others. They were burly men, dressed in leather and mail armour with metal helmets thick beards and wielded thick swords, large axes, heavy round shields and spears._

_The barbarians' front ranks scattered from his initial assault but only for a short while and the warriors started forward at the figure in black and gold figure determined to take him off his horse and tear him apart._

"_NO!" Lelouch heard Launcelot's voice and the brown-haired knight skewered a Saxon warrior that tried to reach the prince. His slim sword known as _Joyeux _pierced through the hard mail and leather armour. The _Joyeux _then frail out and Launcelot buried the weapon into the head of another. By this time, Gwaine and the others had arrived weapons rising and falling around them._

_As Lelouch stabbed his sword into a charging warrior, a flick of metal caught his attention as an axe almost chop his arm off, the Saxon's ugly face was filled with scars and combining with the thick beard and bushy eye brows, he looked more like a bear than a man. He let out a scream that made all the bones in Lelouch's body shook and for a second he thought that the monstrous giant would cut him in two._

_Thankfully his training kicked in at the moment and his sword arm twisted around and parried the battle-axe, the blade's smacking the tip of the axe away. Lelouch then slashed down again and again, trying to cut the ugly face. But the brute appeared to be as skilled as a warrior Lelouch had seen and managed to block all his blows. He was strong too and as his sword and axe clashed again, the axe head almost dove into his helm._

_However, it was done with more strength than skill thus Lelouch shifted himself on his saddle and twisted his sword free and let the axe fall harmlessly beside him as the prince brought his weapon back and ripped the Saxon's throat open._

_Lelouch felt a great deal of satisfaction killing such a powerful enemy no thanks to brute strength but the pleasure of it washed away quickly as the prince saw more and more Saxon ships landing in._

_One warrior caught his attention. He was a heavily built man even larger than the one he just fought, wearing more armour than his companions and wore a mask like helmet with a thick long blond beard with medals of bone necklaces. His held a massive double-bladed axe in his hand while a sheathed sword hung on his belt._

_The Saxon leader met his gaze, his blue eyes had a startling effect on him and had Lelouch so distracted that he was almost skewered by a Saxon._

"_Look alive!" Launcelot shouted, kicking at the warrior before he could spear the prince again._

_Gwaine joined them snatching a battle-axe from one warrior and burying it back to its owner._

"_We need to move back to the main army," Gwaine warned them._

_Nodding, Lelouch shouted back. "Back to the mainland!" Gwaine and Launcelot brought up his rear while Lelouch was led back by Tristran and Kay. One warrior tried to prevent him from escaping throwing a small axe at Lelouch._

_Kay got in between and used his shield to knock the weapon away while Tristran took up a fallen spear and threw it at the attacker._

_More than once Lelouch thought they'd be surrounded and killed seeing such a large number of enemy arriving more than once but him, Launcelot, Gwaine, Tristran and Kay all managed to get back to the British lines._

_A volley of arrows was shot from the Britons taking down any Saxon that was close to them._

"_Form shields! Raise spears! Repel them!" His bodyguard and the rest of the Vanguard halted behind the forming infantry. The soldiers locked their large shields together along a massive line, two men deep thick bristling with spears. Against the Saxons who were savage fighters, fighting them in loose formations would be suicidal as their violent fighting prowess and numbers would wash over them like a water tide. But together as a single united force, they could stand against this._

_The wave of Saxon warriors charged forward and smashed into the shield wall. Many Saxon warriors impaled themselves on the British spears or rammed into the heavy shields. Some sections collapsed by the sheer weight but most of it held back. Row upon row of warriors in thick furs and armour wielding swords, spears and the infamous Great Saxon Axes clashed against the line. They slashed, smashed, thrust into the wall of steel and men. Here and there, the line started to flicker only to be replaced by another Briton._

"_Now! Pull back!" Lelouch shouted and the soldiers from the shield wall fell back into a second line. Each line was three men deep and the rear ranks were slowly pulling back into a new shield wall. It was just in time too as another wave of Saxons came up and clashed into the wall again, managing to pull several men down but most of the line was still held back._

"_Volley!" Gwaine shouted, raising his sword high. Chopping it down, the longbowmen let loosed a thousand arrows darkening the sky and with the arrows landing just before the shield wall. Hundreds of Saxons were struck by the bolts._

_Lelouch was already organising a third shield wall behind the first two._

"**By forming one shield wall after another, I am...I mean Arthur's soaking up the Saxons' charges."**

"**Yes," The blue cloaked knight replied. "The Saxons are mighty warriors. Excellent shock troops and he's using it against them."**

**Lelouch smirked. "Good insight. But I'm sure the Saxons aren't that stupid." And he was right.**

_On the third clash, the Saxons held back for something._

"_They're pulling back. You think they had enough?" Kay asked. _

"_Archers! Loose!" A volley of arrows was sent into the Saxon ranks that knelt and formed a shield wall as well. Several of them were struck down but most of it held back despite the small size of the shields._

"_Ready!" The archer captain shouted. "Stretch! Away!"_

_Another volley was sent and more Saxons were downed. But the shouting still resumed. A third and fourth volley was sent but the Saxons still took the shots giving nothing in return but curses and noise._

"_Slaka! Slaka! Slaka!"_

_Lelouch opened his visor to get a clearer look at the enemy. The Saxons were there just standing about 100 yards away from the shield wall, shouting and banging their weapons._

_Another volley came and struck down more warriors._

"_What the heck are they doing?" Tristran thought out loud._

"_Slaka! Slaka! Slaka!" The Saxons shouted. More volleys followed and killed more warriors._

"_They're just standing there..." said Kay._

"_Slaka! Slaka! Slaka!"_

_Then something emerged from the barbarians._

"_By the Gods..."_

_

* * *

_

**Meanwhile in the United States of Japan**

**Tokyo Settlement**

**12****th**** January 2020 **

Xingke who had arrived three days ago from Britannia, studied the profile of the white haired knight carefully.

_He looks too much like him._

The Chinese leader of the Black Knights had like many of the other world leaders been as shock to see Zero merging again on the day of their execution...or rather a _suppose_ execution to assassinate the world's most hated ruler.

Xingke had been a soldier for all his life, severing from the lowest ranks to reach the rank of general and studied military tactics and politics since he was able to read.

And yet despite all his knowledge, he could not truly understand Lelouch Vi Britannia. He appeared to be a demon in human flesh but yet at the same time given results that he could scarcely thought of. A miracle.

That's what they called Zero before. The man of miracles.

Little did people know that the man who was known as the Demon Emperor of the World was also their Saviour.

An irony...a sad one which Xingke regret that must be kept from the people forever.

The few who had known Lelouch's truth and time as Zero made a small private funeral for him back in Japan. A small unmarked grave. Kaguya, Todoh, Nunnally, Kallen Kozuki and Tianzi who had insisted to him to come along had a brief mourning for the saviour. It was also the first time he had seen the harden warrior of Kouzki broke down in crying. He supposed it made sense. She was after all his first follower, fought with him until the end. Perhaps they had been lovers as well?

Xingke did not know and sympathised the young warrior and did not envy the position she faced. No matter how powerful an enemy is, if you were fighting for the one you love it was decision easy to make.

To fight someone you love was completely another.

And now, there was this knight, this...Arthur Peregrine.

A namesake of an ancient revered king, flying into battle in the same tactics as the saviour himself...

It was too much of a coincidence. But right now, Xingke wished he _was_ Lelouch.

For after almost two years of peace, there had been disunities amongst the UFN. Many minor nations were starting to demand more power. Corruption was taking place in the larger ones, including his own beloved China. Old hatreds were rising again.

All made things worse by the Britannian Civil War which had the world's eyes now. Many saw the war in the most powerful nation in the world as a weakness of the UFN and as well the thinking that it could not keep Britannia in line.

Many feared that the mighty Empire would rise up again and come back again. Some were supporting the conflict despite all the attempts of the Black Knights, hoping that Britannia would tear itself apart.

Such thoughts would destroy the young Federation before it could even mature.

The new Zero was a powerful man and had the support of many but that was limited now that the main villain was defeated.

"Something is coming." Xingke muttered to himself in Chinese.

"Lord Xingke, you really must rest." A familiar female voice chided him from behind.

The dark haired Chinese man turned to see Xianglin walked down to him with a tray of medicine.

"I'm fine, Xinglin. Really. Her Majesty's doctors did well their job." He had been dying of his illness and was not expected to live for the next few days after the rejoining of Britannia. As a sign of peace and cooperation, Empress Nunnally had her royal physicians to treat his sickness. He had doubted it work but in the end the operation was successful although he was much weaker than before.

Tianzi had Xinglin to look after him since then. Xingke had watched the young Empress growing up with Nunnally and Kaguya who now became the unifying icon of the new young world of peace.

"But you're still as weak as a kitten." Xianglin pouted her lips as the Chinese swordsmaster stumbled trying to get up.

Xingke shook his head. "I've been in far worse conditions than this."

"And I've been the one patching you up every single time." Xianglin countered.

Chuckling to himself, Xingke decided to change the subject.

"How goes the news from the top?"

The young woman put the tray on the table and helped her commander and comrade to stand near the window.

"Not really good." She said. "There are many protests about sending the Peacekeeping Mission to Britannia."

"They do realise that their _true_ fear will become a reality if the war should succeed?"

"Yes, but the people think the Britannians should handle it by themselves."

Xingke sighed. There were going to be problems and this time he really hoped that Lelouch had another miracle up his sleeves.

"_Commander Xingke,_" The face of a young woman with dark hair and vivid green eyes appeared.

"Chairman Kaguya," Xingke greeted.

The young girl smiled. _"I hope you are recovering well, Commander."_

Xingke nodded. "I am well. Thank you. But I take it that you did not call to ask on my health alone."

Kaguya's expression turned sombre as she sighed. _"I am afraid so. The UFN council has are making a decision."_

The Chinese commander's face turned grave. "On?"

"_On the attacks in Britannia. They want a second military expedition ready. They want you to lead it."_

"A second?" Xingke was shocked. "There are already more than 100,000 men fighting with the loyalist forces."

"_I am aware." _Kaguya nodded. _"But they fear possible return of the Empire. They want to make sure that nothing like that should happen."_

"You mean to take control of the Empire by force?" Xianglin nearly shouted. "Are they mad? That would only encourage the Britannians to side with the rebels!"

"_I know. I will do my part to hold the line here but I just want you get ready should that day come."_

Xingke nodded. "If they do that, then the new invasion forces would make the old Britannian armies look like rowboats."

Kaguya nodded. She looked downcast. "I wish...Lelouch was still alive."

Xingke said nothing agreeing with her statement. Lelouch had given them a peaceful world but not after two years it seems that human greed and fear is consuming them again.

"Then...what about that Britannian? Peregrine?"

Kaguya shook her head. _"Things are not looking to good either. Some people think he's Lelouch himself coming back from the dead. They want him eliminated."_

"Zero said he has sworn loyalty to Her Majesty Nunnally. Any attack on him will make an enemy out of the loyalist forces. We need him to protect the Empress."

"_I know. But the council wants a Black Knight monitor Arthur Peregrine."_

"Who are they sending?" Xianglin asked.

"I think Kouzki would be best."

Kaguya nodded smiling. "Ohgi protests it but I agree Kallen is the best to send. She was...after all the closest to Lelouch."

* * *

**Back in New Pendragon**

"Right," Arthur muttered over his com-link. "K-1. Phase Two, commence."

"_Yes, my lord,"_ said Lord Jeremiah's voice.

"_Aye, sir," _replied Harry Dunford.

With a satisfied grunt, Arthur turned off the communicator.

Operation Shadowhunter was going well...at the moment. One hundred men of the Arfon knights had been sent including operatives Jeremiah and Sayoko. The disk that he had recovered at Richmond contained Geass experiments and weapons in the very installation. If the Knights could capture or destroy it, the result would contribute to the war front that they were fighting.

Despite the details Lelouch had given them before his death of the Geass Directorate, there was little knowledge of their true attention. They were behind the civil war that was for sure. How else did the Britannian military fell into the hands of petty rebellious nobles from the command of strong leaders so quickly? Arthur could very well confirm it, having led some of the operations in putting down uprisings against the back then new Emperor.

The rebels had been viciously crushed. Crushed enough to accept any new changes the new leader has to offer. Crushed enough to never to rebel again. Whoever is leading this new uprising had external support. External and _extraordinary_ support.

While Arthur would like to list the Black Knights on the first list, it was a claim without proof and knew that it had a little biasness in it as well. Lelouch's knight was well aware that he was arrogant but he was also aware of its limits.

There were enemies in the Black Knights that was for certain and it's not just those who might be aligned with the Geass Cult or idiots seeking profit from war but also those who want Britannia to be nothing but a war torn nation. Prejudice and hate was something that still lingered despite Lelouch's sacrifice.

Not to mention those who were suspicious of the Arfon knights especially with him leading it. Arthur had never planned to show his face to public but that battle could not have helped and knew that it was better off than the alternative which was not an option of losing for Arthur himself and Britannia.

Of course it made the battles that were to come much harder with so many enemies but Lelouch had fought with so many enemies and had come out triumphant.

Arthur briefly wondered if Lelouch's Geass command on him was to protect his sister which might have explained how he had heard that voice and the great boast of energy he had temporally gained. While he had no memory of what he did, he was well aware of it and did not regret it. The last time it had happened was during the battle of New England where the Purist Fleet almost destroyed New Pendragon. Perhaps it was the same reason but he did not know why or how.

Anduin and the rest of the Order had joined the Imperial Strike Force in attacking Illinois and thus leaving Arthur alone as the sole Arfon knight in New Pendragon aside from his personal guard of two younger knights: the Scottish Marcus Gordon and the English James "Jack" Nelson. They were newly made knights from the British Isles trying to adapt to the nation that had became the successor in terms of power to the old England based Britannian Empire.

Despite the names, the Commonwealth of Britain and the Holy Empire of Britannia were two different nations despite sharing a part of each other's history. The Commonwealth had stayed neutral during the Global Wars launching an isolationist policy since its sovereignty. It had become part of the France for a time until the true formation of the European Union where it was granted its independence on the leadership of a pro-European government. It was now an elective monarchy led by the descendants of the survivors under different noble houses although the House of Windsor seemed to be the most popular.

The British were not interested in the war that was fought between the super-powers, scornful of their Britannian cousins for who had abandoning them and the Europeans who had conquered them. In addition, they also disliked the Chinese Federation's policies of mistreating the commoners which was a reminder of their various rebellions during medieval Britain. Thus with that they had cut off relations from Britannia changing their name to Britain and its people as Britons or British.

Even with the creation of the United Federation of Nations, the British Commonwealth under King William V still stood isolated from the rest of the world or at least politically.

Arthur had chosen the two British knights not just because they had shown potential but also because as non-Britannian and non-UFN representatives, they would have a better insight of the situation and advise him accordingly.

The brown haired Gordon was calmer and older of the new generation of knights, a deep believer in the Gaelic beliefs said to have Irish blood in him which makes him a little superstitious at times but despite it was an extremely skilled confident fighter. And coming from a family of high background, Gordon was well verse in diplomacy. Marcus was hand-picked by Grand Master Bernard himself to join the knights and had been seen nothing but an assist to the Order.

His companion however was the complete opposite. Jack was likely the best fighter in the entire Order by sheer skill alone and the only problem was that _he knew it_ and his lack of experience often lead him into trouble. Sarcastic, witty and funny, Jack might have been a jester instead of a knight.

Losing his parents at an early age, young Nelson had joined the neighbourhood gangs until he had stumbled upon a private battle between the Knights and the Cultists. Despite the intense battle, Jack had gone in to save a knight and was taken up by the Order. At the age of 14, he had been the youngest knight in history and now 16 he was already part of the best. Being the youngest, he was given to immaturity and impetuousness, frequently meeting even the gravest threats with a flippant remark, often showing a certain underestimation of the true danger of the situation. His bravery was out of the question of course. Spiked hair, deep blue, the boy represented the newest generation of knights...provided he survive long enough.

The two knights joined his side, both wearing identical crimson tunics with black cloaks and sheathed swords.

"Sir Arthur," Gordon began with his distinct Scottish accent. "Earl Lloyd said that your _new_ _horse_ is ready. He said to be careful with it."

Jack shook his head. "I say," The sardonic English knight said. "These blokes are even crazier than the blue-bloods back home. I can't believe the stuff they eat here."

Arthur smirked. "Let me guess, you end up eating some of Cecile's delicious desserts?"

"You got it, mate. The Lady's sweet but her cooking..." The young knight shuddered.

Gordon chuckled. "Let it be a lesson to ya, lad. Never judge a lady by her cover, especially a Britannian. No offense." He added to Arthur.

"None taken. But Cecile is a good woman. Mind her cooking though."

"You could have told me earlier," groaned Jack. "Now she got me into testing some of her homemade pancakes. And I don't know how to say no to her."

"Heh, you hear that milord? You want the little bugger to shut up, use a woman."

"Oi! It'll take more than that to taken down Jack Nelson."

"Hey, don't forget." Gordon reminded him. "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick but don't forget Jack fell off a candle stick."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Arthur shook his head from the ongoing friendly argument and instead thought of when he should join Jeremiah and the others.

His old modified _Vincent_ Mark V had been customised by Lloyd and Cecile into creating a standard Knightmare for the Arfon knights. It had taken a long time for the Order to decide to do it especially with the knowledge that the rebels have started the Energy Wing system, the Vipers and the Siegfrieds. Now that the Geass Cult was in the conflict doesn't help. They would face new weapons on the other side and thus, the Grand Master had decided that the Knights should have a new standard Knightmare.

It was decided to be called...

"So this is the famed Red knight..." A commanding feminine voice barked from behind. Arthur looked into the mirror's reflect to see a tall woman dressed in white and maroon followed by an officer, probably a knight in the uniform of a Royal Guard commander.

Arthur allowed a smirk to return to his face.

"You look more like the devil than I expected."

The Commander in chief was a tall and powerfully built woman with a presence just as powerful. Her long violet hair hung down her shoulders along her white cloak. Her knight, similarly dressed wore a pair of sunglasses that did not hide his concern for his ward.

"And what would the bitch of Britannia want from me?"

"What did you say?" The royal knight snarled stepping forward but his princess held him back with a slender arm.

"I'm just here," She replied calmly despite the insult. "To see for myself what the Knight of the Demon Emperor looks like. It seems that that demonic tend seems to flow down with his followers."

The white-haired Lelouch chuckled. "Really?" He smirked. "That would have flattered me if those words hadn't come out of a whore."

"Insolent bastard!" The Guard Commander shouted. "How dare you even speak to the Princess with such a manner?"

"Oh, dear me," Arthur's face turned with a mock innocence. "I must have made a mistake. I thought this was only the Commander of the Imperial Army. My humble apologies." He bowed.

"Those words I used just now," He started his voice soft. "Could not dare to touch your name." Despite the apology, his eyes showed nothing but contempt.

"No...The one who would use even her own blood deserves something much more."

Cornelia frowned, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "What is _that _supposed to mean?"

"Oh, your highness," Arthur replied, smoothly. "You know _exactly_ what I mean...I wonder what your famed idol would think of you now..."

For a brief moment, Cornelia thought she saw the Lelouch duplicate's eyes turning violet with his hair, snowy white darkening. The face became feminine and into one so familiar to her.

Seeing her reaction, red knight's lips curved into an evil grin.

"I mean," He continued. "It was not until the lady fell under your care, didn't she die?" Arthur shook his head. "Now I fear Her Majesty's safety with you around...perhaps you should remain underground like the mole you are. Heh, I wonder what Princess Euphemia think of you now."

Cornelia's mouth opened, all her features showing her well known outright anger that had put fear into many hardened soldiers but no sound came out as an object flew out behind her and landed between the princess and her target.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at the object.

"I, Gilbert Guilford, in the honour of Princess Cornelia Li Britannia, challenge you..."

* * *

**In the Quarters of the Knight of Two**

"_Kallen..." _A voice whispered.

"Go away." Kallen murmured, nuzzling against her pillow.

"_Kallen..." _

"Oh come on...its Saturday." It's been a while she has gotten a good night sleep.

The voice chuckled. _"You haven't changed a bit." _

Her bed shifted slightly as someone sat beside her. She felt a gentle hand running through her hair. But she didn't feel like stirring. Bloody paper work...Bloody Suzaku...bloody Arthur...bloody Lelouch

"Baka...Shut up or I'll box your face."

The hand caressed her cheeks.

"_Don't go to war, Kallen."_ The voice muttered.

"I'm a soldier." She replied, sleepily but stubbornly. "I'm doing it for my brother and Lelouch."

"_And you've done it well." _Kallen felt a gentle finger touching her lips. _"But it's now over. You can go back to Japan. Please don't fight anymore."_

"Shut up!" She shouted at the figure beside her bed and went straight back to sleep.

"Stupid Lelouch...bastard...abandoning me...not even letting me sleep..."

Only after a moment Kallen realised what she had said.

"Huh?" She opened her eyes and turned and saw a dark figure walking out of her room.

"Lelouch?" At once she jumped out of bed and followed. She saw the shadow walking away down the corridor.

"Wait!" She called, following, her bare feet slapping on the carpeted floor.

The figure was fast and had already reached down the corridor and turned to a corner.

Kallen followed and found herself at a crossroad where two men from Nunnally's Royal Guard were standing.

"Milady?" The Guardsmen asked, seeing her in her undress state.

"Did you see a man passing her?" Kallen snapped at the unfortunate soldier.

"No one passed here, madam." His companion replied.

"I sa..." Kallen had started when her eye caught a flicker of movement behind. Without waiting for the puzzled guards, she ran straight after it.

_Damn it Lelouch what are you trying to play here._ She thought as the figure went up the stairs.

Finally Kallen climbed the final step and reached the tower. The wind was extremely strong and she could feel her hair bellowing with it.

The dark figure stood standing at the edge of the tower.

"Lelouch? Is that really you?" She called.

The figure was wearing a black cloak and it bellowed as the figure turned...and vanished into thin air.

Kallen absently touched her lips and knew at once that it was no dream.

* * *

"Sir?" Gordon asked. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I took the gauntlet, didn't I?" Arthur replied to the younger knight.

"It was more of a glove..." Jack murmured.

"Shut it!" Gordon snapped. He turned to their Britannian companion. "Sir Arthur, what I mean was that, as the Knights of Arfon, we are here to show our support to the Imperial crown in this bloody war and duelling the Princess' personal knight doesn't sound like a good idea."

"I know what we're here for, Lieutenant." The white haired Lelouch replied coldly. "Now is the Knightmare ready or not?"

Shaking his head, the Scottish knight finished all the final adjustments for the _Vincent_. It was almost identical to the old one without the advance modifications. Arthur wanted a fair fight.

The white haired knight saw Guilford entering the silver and purple _Vincent_ Commander Model and he entered his own.

As the two Knightmares took off in the air, Gordon shook his head again.

"Come on, mate." Jack put a hand on the older man's shoulder. "That four eye geek can't be that tough."

Gordon turned to the Englishman. "You have no idea who he is, don't you?"

"Guilford, I must insist you stop this!" Cornelia tried to change the mind of her knight who was already dressed in his Knightmare pilot suit.

"My lady, he insulted you." The Spearhead of Britannia made the statement as if it had been the worst crime that could have been committed. He continued his stride to the training grounds where they had decided to duel.

Both had agreed to use the same Knightmare and the weapons, a _Vincent_ Commander Model with only the MVSs, Needle Blazers and Slash Harkens as armaments. The first one to disable the opponent's Knightmare wins.

"He did. But don't you dare treat me like one of your women! I am not a hapless woman, I can handle myself well and you well know it."

The tall slim knight turned to regard his princess and gave her a slight smile.

"Of course, I know it, your highness. You are and have always been the greatest princess and one of the finest leaders this country had ever had to me. And I, as your personal knight am the sword you wield, your champion who is chosen to fight in your stead and your honour."

Guilford raised a hand up before Cornelia could protest. Despite his eyes being covered by the sunglasses, the Britannian princess could see that he was struggling with his words.

"And..." He started. "I have to make sure that I am still worthy of it. To defend your honour would be the test to make sure I am the same knight. If not, I would gladly resign it."

Without another word, Guilford had started to climb up the purple and silver _Vincent_'s cockpit.

Cornelia watched her knight disappearing from the closing cockpit, lost for words. She then realised that her knight was trying to make it clear to himself that he was still able to be a capable warrior.

"You are more than worthy of it...Gilbert."

* * *

Both knights had mounted their war horses. The _Vincent_s, one purple, one red had stirred slightly as their keys were activated. Their face spheres opened up glowing.

"Begin!"

Both _Vincent_s at once took into the air, drawing their blades at the same time. With their MVSs spinning and locking into the double sword mode, the two 7th Generation Knightmares charged at one another their blades clashing in a shower of sparks. As the two separated, Guilford wheeled back and brought one of the double swords down in such a crashing impact that Arthur was thrown out of balance.

Before he could make a second move, the silver and violet Knightmare came back slashing his sword down again which Arthur was forced to give space to block. Counterattacking, he brought the other end of the blade to slash which was quickly countered by Guilford who also brought his rear blade up.

Taking advantage of the closeness, Arthur then activated his left arm's needle blazer and lunged forward. But Guilford was made of sterner stuff and fly back, firing both his slash harkens. They came in too fast for Arthur to sever them so he brought up his weapon to block them.

The wired projectiles were held back with only a little scratch on his arms but by that time the purple trimmed _Vincent_ had returned with a charging roundhouse kick, striking its red counterpart's head. The blow sent Arthur flying back, dazing him.

_Damn!_ He thought. Lelouch's knight should have been better prepared facing this man.

Arthur pulled himself together and only made it in time to block another blow from Guilford. The red knight swung back with the rear end blade which missed but Arthur continued with a thrust at the purple _Vincent_ which was also avoided.

Withdrawing slightly from him, Guilford returned with a savage swing of his double-lances which sent Arthur staggering back.

"Agrah!"

Cornelia's knight then pushed full power into his float system and charged forward, lance held out pointing so that its tip would spear into the red _Vincent._

With a quick flick of his controls, Arthur narrowly avoided the near fatal strike and moved right behind the other Knightmare and strike. However, even at the seemingly blind spot, Guilford managed to block the blow.

With a great display of swordsmanship both pilots, the two _Vincents_ battled in the entire training ground. But slowly and though he loathe to admit it, Arthur was getting hammered by Guilford's powerful blows and it's taking all of his skill just to keep up with him.

Avoiding a counter attack, Arthur withdrew himself. The two knights clashed again, sparks flying with each blow. Guilford was using only one of his blades focusing on quick slashes and fast jabs as if wielding a spear.

Arthur parried one particularly powerful thrust, pulling his Knightmare to the side of his opponent and countered with a vicious swing at the enemy knight's cockpit.

The slash was blocked as he expected and he twisted his _Vincent_ along the lance and lowered his Knightmare to perform an infamous low thrust right blow Guilford's guard. The speed and timing were both exactly like during training.

The only difference from training was that he missed.

"What the..." Then Arthur realised that he had grossly underestimated Cornelia's knight.

"You are truly a mighty opponent, knight. But the skies are mine!"

Guilford was a most dangerous combatant an equal to General Todoh and Xingke of the Black Knights as well as a skilled tactician.

At an early age, Guilford had distinguished himself in the Pax Britannia Conquests serving under the old General Alexandros and Marshal Valac Dalton as a lieutenant in the Emperor's Royal Lancers. Fighting the European Union in Africa, Guilford had personally led the Britannian armoured units against their superior European counterparts and emerging only with victory gaining the name of Spearhead of the Empire.

"Ha! That showed that arrogant bastard to mess with Princess Cornelia!" One of the royal guards said to his companion.

"Lord Guilford would tear that red _Vincent_ apart," said another.

"He's not so though now without an army behind him."

Cornelia said nothing and while her knight had fought for her stead many a times. This time, she felt particularly touched by him. The Witch of Britannia had of course respected Guilford's duty, dedication and bravery. It was out of the question. But for the first time, Cornelia had felt such a thing about a man.

And the Spearhead of the Empire with his needle blazer had struck his float system's wing.

"Damn it!" Arthur shouted as his Knightmare dropped free fall to the ground. Thinking quickly, he tried to turn to look around for something to hold on but saw nothing. Guilford had chosen the ground well. He had particularly forced the duel to be engaged mid air of the centre of the training ground.

But Arthur was not chosen by Lelouch for his fighting prowess or his looks alone! If he was going down, he'll take his opponent down with him!

Without a second thought, Arthur fired his slash harkens. The wired projectiles shot out from the red-silver Knightmare flying not at the walls around him but at the purple _Vincent_ itself.

"What the..." Guilford muttered as his Knightmare got pulled down. He looked down and saw the two slash harkens wrapped around his right leg. The _Vincent_'s float system was not meant to hold _two_ Knightmares and they both dropped from the sky and Guilford was forced to pull all power to his float system.

"A cowardly move." Guilford knew that if it continued both of their Knightmares would go crashing to the ground. Withdrawing his sword, he slashed at the wires that were gripping him. They sliced away as easily as cutting butter.

The crimson Knightmare then suddenly twisted spinning and landed on the ground neatly without harm. It had used its opponent's flight power to brace its landing.

"Ha! You impress me but now I have the air as my advantage."

Like a soaring eagle, Cornelia's knight dove down, blade at the ready to finish off its opponent. The crimson Knightmare released its float system and as the aerial support device to the ground like a knight shedding its cloak and gripped his double swords with both hands in battle stance.

"This duel ends!" The purple and silver Knightmare withdrew its sword to strike.

"_First move. Check."_ Arthur's _Vincent_ suddenly opened up its needle blazer.

"What the hell!" A soldier beside Cornelia exclaimed as the red knight activated its weapon. The energy blast was too far to damage the other _Vincent_ but it managed to blind Guilford.

"Damn!" Guilford tried to steer his way properly to avoid the coming strike from his opponent. The royal knight narrowly missed the slashing blood red blades but the MVSs continued its swing and struck his float system.

But the princess herself could not say anything.

"That move..."

For a brief moment, the red and silver _Vincent_ had turned bulker into a blue and white familiar Knightmare.

_Lady Marianne?_

As Cornelia struggled with her old memories, her knight was sent crashing to the ground. However, as he did, Guilford pulled his knightmare around so that he would flip back on his feet for a bracing land.

_He's good._ Arthur thought. A lesser man would have crashed and broken a few limbs especially at that speed. He watched as the other Knightmare also discarded its wrecked float system and rose up from the dusty smoke. The purple _Vincent_ shifted slightly as if shrugging off the dirt on its armour.

Arthur also knew that he was in truth the one in disadvantage in the fight, not Guilford. Both were piloting the same Knightmare and while Lelouch's knight knew that he was a competent fighter his true strength was as a strategist and tactician calling the forces around him to his advantage. But in a straight fight, blade on blade Guilford had far more experience than Arthur in terms of Knightmare or personal combat. He was dealing with one of the finest warriors on the planet.

But now Arthur had analysed Guilford's fight patterns and tactics. He could turn the tables now.

The red and silver Knightmare then raised his MVS double lances up and disconnect the hints into forming two separate blades.

Guilford raised an eyebrow as the other 7th Generation Knightmare brandished its duel swords in a grand display before falling into a fighting stance.

"This fight keeps getting more interesting by the minute." Nodding his Knightmare's head in respect, Guilford brandished his MVS double lances twirling it around overhead and then brought one of the blood red blades at his opponent.

* * *

**Iowa, Purist Base **_**Delta**_

The first person to have realised that something was wrong was an observation officer from the Illinoisan 6th Recon. The soldier had woken up early before light from a sore head and a wish to continue sleeping. A solid sot, dependable, he had pulled on his boots and climbed his way to the watch post.

It was an eerie time of day, with the first light. He had taken over the post of the last observation officer who gladly left. He checked the time and conversed with the two other duty officers. He took cup of morning coffee and entered his seat. Sipping the hot drink, the officer noticed something different about the ground on a sector on the left.

"That's strange." He muttered and activated the camera in the area to have a better look. He glanced back on to his map. He swore that there was a listening post in the place. His map and the camera image told him it was no so.

"Hm...Ensign." He called.

"Sir?" The junior officer arrived at his side.

"Wasn't there a listening post in this sector?"

"Not according to the archives, sir."

_Something's not right_. He double checked it. It gave him the same results.

"Report this to the Captain." He ordered the younger man. But the officer suddenly muttered something.

"What?" He barked.

The ensign pointed at the camera screen. Sighing, the observation officer turned.

Then he died.

The alarm sirens rang throughout the base as explosions rang across the entire land. Barracks, hangers, garages, weapons stockades were now a smothering ruins or at least going to become one. Men and machines scrambled out trying to stop the fire and damage.

The commander had just gotten to the war room when the attacks had started.

"Sir, we're under attack! Outpost Five, Six and Nine have all overwhelmed."

"Identify them!"

"They match the forces from the Iowa. Loyalists to Lord James."

"Those bloody peasants?" The commander snorted. "How the hell did they find us here?"

"It doesn't matter." A tall figure dressed in a gold laced white coat entered. "Make sure no one else here leaves alive. This operation's secrecy must be kept."

The commander nodded and started barking orders through the radio. Margrave Theodore Wilde was formerly part of Emperor Charles' black-ops unit guarding the Geass Research Program under General Bartley. A contingent of the unit was sent to observe the back the prince-turn traitor Lelouch and failed to contact again.

Wilde however was not allowing something like that to happen again.

"Contact Lambert. Tell him to send his troops to purge all major cities in the area. We'll trap these fools."

The loyalists were mainly made up of tanks, armoured vehicles and infantry and a few Knightmares most of them old _Glasglows_, _Sutherlands _and _Gloucesters_ all antiques compared to the forces they had here. They had air cover however, the old F-49 _Vampires_ and VTOL gunships.

The Purist forces were more trained and better armed. Their _Vincent Wards_ and _Gareths_ were more than a match for the fools.

* * *

Guilford gritted his teeth as he was force to give ground blocking the repeating strikes from his opponent. With duel swords, Peregrine's strikes had become much faster becoming an equal match to Cornelia's knight's superior skill and experience. As he parried a slash, Guilford brought out his needle blazer and lunged forward.

The red and silver Vincent just banked to the left and instead swung a slash which the royal knight barely blocked. Peregrine continued his attack bringing his other sword into the play, raining blow after blow on the veteran knight. Sparks flew as the crimson blades struck again and again.

After he had knocked the red knight off the air, Peregrine's fighting style had changed drastically. He was able to predict Guilford's moves; sword thrusts, parries, and blows...everything!

While stuck in his thoughts, Cornelia's knight had barely managed to avoid being decapitated. A lightning fast slash had taken a chunk of his _Vincent_'s shoulder. One of his slash harkens had been damaged by a well placed kick.

As the vibroblades collided for another time, Guilford brought the rear blade to pull in a broad swing. The MVS blades cut through the front piece of the red _Vincent_'s chest plate, leaving a small opening.

"Grah!" Arthur gritted his teeth as he pulled back. The blow was unexpected. He had to be more careful.

Guilford continued his attack, launching a combination of slashes and thrusts which Arthur barely managed to block or parry. The advantage of the double lances was that their blows were far stronger than its duel blade form.

"For Cornelia!" Guilford roared and brought one blade down in a fierce vertical slash. The red knight crossed his duel blades to block it but not in time the ruby red blades to cut a small scratch on his facesphere.

With his crimson opponent staggering back, Guilford pushed forward hammering down with his stronger blows. The other _Vincent_ twisted one of his swords into a reverse grip and raised his other sword to block one particularly powerful slash from Guilford.

In a swift move, Arthur twisted himself and thrust the second blade at purple Knightmare. Unfortunately, Guilford parried the stab and continued to block Arthur's set of continuing slashes.

To Arthur's surprise, Cornelia's knight was able to hold off all his attacks and suddenly span his double lances warding off all his attacks. The red knight had to retreat a step to avoid getting cut by the maelstrom of MVSs blades.

"Now you see the power of a true knight of Britannia!" The purple and silver _Vincent_'s green eyes suddenly glow as if responding its pilot. Spinning the double lances, Guilford charged forward.

Seeing he had little choice, Arthur increased his power as well and move to meet him. The violet _Vincent_ swung first and narrowly missed its red counterpart as Peregrine leapt forward spinning akin to Suzaku's famed spinning kick. Only however, Arthur swung down his swords.

Unfortunately for Arthur, Guilford had spun his double lances at the same time and the spinning blades had blocked almost all his slashes.

"Damn!" Arthur cursed. The Spearhead of the Empire had proven to be a much more powerful opponent. Not willing to let it up, Arthur wheeled back as soon as he landed and threw one of his MVS swords at the unprotected _Vincent._

With an astonishing speed, Guilford turned back charging at him, knocked the flying sword away at the same time. The loss MVS blade buried itself on the ground on the side and Arthur brought his needle blazer up. Guilford's crimson blades had swung first. The MVSs severed the red _Vincent_'s left free arm. As sparks flew from the severed arm, Guilford turned with a spinning kick which hit Arthur square in the chest.

If it hadn't been enough, the purple Knightmare fired both his slash harkens at Arthur's already damaged chest plate.

"Agrah!" It took everything Arthur had, activating his emergency power to land himself without crashing.

"It's over." Cornelia muttered, watching the ruined red and silver Knightmare. Its chestplate had an opening revealing the sakuradite cube in the Yggdrasil Drive.

"He didn't stand a chance." A soldier muttered.

Guilford lowered his weapon.

"You have fought well but the fight is mine. This is what you will get for insulting Her Highness. It is over."

"Indeed it is." Arthur muttered.

* * *

"_Please don't fight anymore..."_ The voice was still ringing in Kallen's head.

The Knight of Two and Black Knight ace lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling thinking of what everyone else had told her a dream.

"_Milady," The Guard officer had said. "We have checked the security cameras twice. There was no one in your room or anyone passing by."_

"_But...I swear I heard someone..."_

"_Come on, Kallen." Mellenia had said half dressed. "It was probably one of your nightmares."_

"_She's right." Gino added. "You've been working yourself too much."_

And Kallen had taken their word and returned to bed, hoping that the mysterious figure might return. It had been a lost hope and after waiting for an hour or so, she just stood flat on the bed.

"_Kallen...You have to live..."_ It was the same voice. There was no doubt of it. Lelouch still had to be alive. Then she wondered about this Arthur Peregrine.

"_Bloody traitor..."_ She heard him muttered.

A jab of pain struck Kallen. Why would Lelouch say that to her...What did she do? She had always stood loyal to him against all odds.

Does Lelouch really hate her? Is that why he chose CC over her? Was that why he had constantly refused to trust her?

As doubts filled her head, Kallen decided to find something to distract her before her heart ache returns.

Dressed in her hated Knight of the Round uniform, Kallen went out to the shooting range. Perhaps she could vent out some by shooting at an imaginary Lelouch.

As Kallen was about to enter the range, she spotted from the corner of her eye, two men walking bearing the Arfon golden dragon on their cloaks.

"Sir Arthur is still duelling Guilford." Said the younger knight of the two. He was only a few years younger than her.

"This is an emergency." The second, a middle-age looking knight told his companion. He had a strange accent which sounded familiar to Kallen. "If that unit must not reach the task force."

"An emergency? A Task Force?" Kallen thought as she followed them and stood in awe as she saw a crimson and a purple _Vincents _clashing in the training arena.

The red and silver Knightmare rose up again and charged forward.

* * *

"He still wants more." Cornelia mused. "Take him down, Guilford."

"Yes, Your Highness!" The royal knight readied its weapon and stood its ground.

The battered and damaged _Vincent_ staggered as it came.

"The fool." Cornelia smirked. "He's running out of power and is still trying to attack. I guess he must be trying to save his pride."

She realised that the warrior was desperate as Peregrine then suddenly threw his sword at her knight. Guilford knocked it aside as well with ease and fired his slash harkens. Surprisingly Arthur avoided the projectiles and readied its needle blazer. It looked like a suicide attempt.

"You're brave till the end!" Guilford lurched forward, moving behind the other Knightmare and swung his sword to finally end the duel. To his surprise, the red knight suddenly bent low down as he came passing. The swing that was aimed for the torso instead fell on the neck, neatly beheading the other Vincent.

What happened next startled everyone. Somehow in that blur of moment, a Knightmare fell but it was the purple and silver one. In its slashing stance, the upper body of Guilford's _Vincent_ fell to the ground face down.

"What the..." Cornelia started forward.

"Huh? What happened?"

As the smoke cleared from the fighting, a ruined Knightmare stood kneeling. The red and silver Knightmare's head was gone, the body battered and completely ruined, its Yggdrasil Drive was visible, left arm lobbed off. In its right hand was an MVS sword.

The spectators were utterly confused as to what had happened. Cornelia's first thought was Geass but it had been wrong. Her brother's power was to control people and was in no use in combat. There was something else.

As all the smoke finally cleared away, the Britannian Commander in Chief saw why. There was a fallen MVS sword was gone and there was a black burnt line dragged away. The red knight had sacrificed his head to get Guilford's final blow and quickly had grabbed the fallen MVS and used it to finish off his opponent.

"But...how did he do it so fast?" Cornelia thought out loud. "Unless..." Then she realised it. The red knight had deliberately lost his arm and the float system in the beginning and instead focused all his Knightmare's energy into his backup system.

He was not fighting Guilford with his full strength in the first place, allowing the older knight to take him piece by piece. Cornelia's knight was a good tactician as well as a fighter so Peregrine had to make sure he was winning so that he would be blind to the final blow.

It was a great strategy. Arthur Peregrine was a gifted strategist. Cornelia had to admit it despite her loathing for her brother and his knight who looked all too similar to Lelouch to be a simple matter of coincidence. It was something what Lady Marianne would have done. Only an incredibly skilled knight could have done it.

Then it hit her. _Lady Marianne?_ Cornelia watched the white haired version of Lelouch walked out of his battered Knightmare now talking to his two knights who were cheering him.

A gifted strategist...and an incredibly skilled knight.

"_Lelouch! What are you doing here when you should be having your fencing lessons?" A younger Cornelia had shouted at the young raven haired prince who was playing chess with a justicar of the royal guard._

"_Oh come on, Cornelia." The young boy moaned. "Why do I need to go for that when I can lead others to fight in my stead?"_

_Cornelia had sighed. "I know you're a gifted strategist. But you will need your own strength if you're going to stand up on the battlefield with your knights. I can see you'll be become a great general and a skilled knight..."_

Cornelia shook her head of the upsetting memory and instead walked down to a shock faced Guilford who was helped out of his Knightmare. He was injured but it looked more emotionally rather than physically.

"Forgive me, Your Highness." The knight apologised. "I failed you..."

"No, Guilford." Cornelia started but Guilford continued.

"I'm not fit to be under your service."

"Guilford..."

"I could not even defend your name."

"Guilford...Gilbert..." Her tone had become lower.

"I must request...to resign..."

Before he could continue, Cornelia threw her arms around Guilford.

"Mi...lady...?" Guilford stammered and glance at the soldiers who replied with blank faces.

"Shut up, Gilbert. You did well."

* * *

"Wow, I can't believe you actually beat him." Jack was saying as Arthur walked with his personal guard.

"Regardless of the outcome," Gordon chided. "We have indirectly made an enemy in the royalist forces. That may prove to be a problem later."

"So what news from the front?" Arthur asked, ignoring the two.

"Zero has started the attack already. The royalist forces are engaging the rebels as we speak. Graham said that the Purists are using the local population as human shields to prevent any bombardments."

"Cowardly bastards." Jack muttered. "They must be getting desperate."

Gordon shook his head. "That's not all. It also seems our old friend from the north is also joining them."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Oxbridge?"

"Aye, he's got at least forty plus warships with him but Lord Bernard said that some of them are pulling out from the main forces."

"And I wonder where they'd be going..." Arthur murmured to himself. "What about Jeremiah and Captain Dunford's strike team?"

"They've hooked up the forces still loyal to the late Lord Lambert and have started with Phase Two."

Arthur nodded. "That splintered fleet may cause some trouble. Ready the Knightmares. We're heading off."

"But Sir Arthur," Gordon protested. "How are we going to stop them with only the three of us?"

"I hate to admit it but he's right." Jack said. "I mean, mate, I'm not scared of anything but facing a bunch of warships with only a three of us is definitely not my idea of bravery. Plus I don't think we can make it in time with a handful of Knightmares. Not with their power alone."

"Unless you have an airship of your own," A female voice declared. The three knights turned to see the Knight of Two.

Arthur scowled at seeing Kallen but she did her best not to pay attention to it.

"What do you want?" He said sharply.

"You need a ship. I can get you one." She stated woodenly.

"You didn't answer my question, woman." The white haired Lelouch said so coldly that made Kallen faltered slightly.

"I...I just want to help." Kallen said softly, unable to look at the cold expression of Lelouch's face.

"Sir," Gordon said. "We don't much time. We're going to need all the help we can get."

Arthur paused to glare at the Scotsman then turned back to Kallen. He observed her, his cold blue eyes stared at her face as if trying to read through her mind. Finally, he relented.

"Fine."

Kallen, despite herself brightened slightly. "Meet me in the hanger in half an hour."

As the former Black knight left, Jack grinned at Arthur.

"I think that bird interest in a certain peregrine, mate."

"I don't have time for this." Arthur said, already turning away. "Get your Knightmares on board."

"Attack! For Lambert! For the Empress!"

Harry watched as the loyalists attacked the rebel units guarding the base. It was a terrible sight to see. He had in truth as Captain Henry Dunford served in the military fighting on many fronts and saw the same sight again as the neo-Darwinist forces slaughtered their brave but outmatched opponents. While the rebel forces were mainly used to using the older generation Knightmares, the machines here were all _Vincent Wards_ and _Gareths_ and were easily outperforming the old machines of the loyalists who Harry had urged to rise up against.

A trio of _Vincent Wards_ flew pass an entire company of _Gloucesters_ tearing them apart with each passing. One of them broke formation and flew in among them wielding its MVS blades. The _Gloucesters_ drew their signature lances and charged at the violet Knightmare.

Despite their bravery, they were simply no match for the _Ward_'s superior speed and strength. The 7th Generation Knightmare simply dodged all the lance thrusts and slash harkens, cutting through the violet metal with crimson Master Vibration Sword.

In another area, a large group of soldiers and ground armour fired continuously at a _Gareth_ where the raining bullets and shells made no dent in its thick body. The _Gareth_ simply just blasted the entire group to dust with a single shot of its Hadron cannon.

_Damn! This battle must end fast!_ Harry thought. He waved at the militia and paramilitary troops who were trying to enter the base under cover of the fighting.

One of the grey and gold massive Knightmare leapt out from the hanger and opened one of its cannons to devastate the attackers.

"Oh shit."

The beam was already forming when the _Gareth_'s head suddenly exploded.

On the screen, a very familiar crimson and silver _Vincent_ appeared hovering mid-air its rifle's grenade launcher was still smoking from its recent shot.

"_All units move in! We'll keep them busy! Storm that base!"_ A mechanical voice called out in all channels.

"Sir Arthur?" Harry asked in question. Where did the red knight come from?

"_Task Force, proceed with Phase Two."_ Just as it said it, the _Vincent_ Mark V rose up in the air and pulled out its Gejun disturber cannon and fired out a shot of green beam. The emerald beam lanced towards a squadron of _Vincent Wards_ who lost all power. Some came crashing down but others tried to glide along the air with their wings.

The rebels took advantage of their demise and their VTOL gunships unleashed out a barrage of missiles taking down the falling Knightmares in a forest of explosions.

The red and silver Knightmare then turned in amongst the enemy lines firing round after round of its grenade launcher at various targets then threw a chaos mine at a barrack.

Harry opened his radio. "Now everyone move in!"

* * *

**Breach at Sector 364!**

**Breach at Sector 364!**

Internal hatches blew open in a welter of flame and flying metal. Machine gun rounds ripped out of the smoke choking the hallway, and cut down the base's inhabitants as they tried to flee.

Loyalist soldiers in their old military uniforms stormed in guns blazing, shooting down anything in their way.

"For Lord James! Death to Robert!" The soldiers cried brandishing their weapons. They strode into the hall ways.

"All shock troops move assume defensive positions!" An electronic voice shouted.

Rows of men in grey armour entered the hallway wielding ballistic shields and assault rifles from the hall ways. They formed up quickly with practiced ease, the large rectangular shields lined up in a solid wall of men and weapons.

The officer drew his pistol behind the shield wall.

"Open fire! Leave no survivors!"

The line of AR-28 rifles roared, sending volleys of supersonic rounds down the hallway, peppering the attackers' ranks greatly. Men danced in the gunfire, their bodies riddled with bullets. They fought systematically. One in every two men would fire in bursts and while they reloaded the man next to him would fire. While at this, another row of riflemen would pressure them with their own volleys.

The loyalists returned fired leaving dents and sparks on the shields but otherwise doing little damage to the rebel s.

A grenade was tossed from the shield wall and devastated the coverless loyalist soldiers, sending men flying. Desperate, the loyalists move into the nearest cover either dead bodies or the edges of the door but not before so many were killed.

"Someone throw a pineapple up there...ahgrah!" A loyalist soldier shouted but his head exploded from a round in his brain.

"See?" The rebel officer scoffed. "These bastards bleed like the sheep they are!"

"And so do you." A voice said from behind. The officer turned and saw a flying blade spinning towards him and watched it buried on his forehead.

"Sir?" A soldier dared to turn around to see his fallen superior only to die as well. His companion from the side fell as well.

No one noticed their deaths over the heavy gun fire until it was too late. A figure crashed into them from behind, breaking the shield wall and disrupting the deadly systematic firing.

Several of the soldiers turned to aim their guns the newcomer but he was already amongst them. A heavy punch cracked a soldier's helmet and visor. He wheeled and broke the neck of another. Using his fist, the man parried the pointing rifle of the soldier in front of him and twisted behind the unfortunate soldier, using the warrior's own weapon against his fellows who had no time to bring their shields around.

As the entire right section collapsed, a bloodied golden blade appeared from the hapless soldier's chest. Pulling the weapon out, the figure wheeled and beheaded the last soldier from his section.

The head rolled down, blood followed it like paint and stopped in front of a second line of shieldmen who had formed during the fighting. The rebel defenders pointed their weapons at the man who devastated their first line.

"Fire!" The rifles roared again striking the figure but other than staggering from the bullets shot, the man just stood there unharmed even after being hit by over a hundred rounds.

He wore a now battered white and purple cloak with a violet vest with a sword blade jutting out of his right arm. On his face he wore an orange metallic renaissance styled mask.

And there was not a single dent on his body.

The man grinned at the shocked soldiers.

"Know now that you were just been by...the Orange..."

* * *

**%%%**

**On Board the **_**King's Daughter **_**en-route to Illinois**

Kallen had seen the knight with the snowy white hair and the face of her friend, enemy and lover leaning against the wall earlier. It was him, she had not dreamt it; there standing like he hadn't even experienced a thing was the student Lelouch Lampourage, the first Zero, the 99th Emperor of Britannia. She couldn't move for a few moments as she just tried to figure out how he was alive. Or rather if it was truly him?

It certainly looks like it. Other than the hair and the eye colour, he resembles Lelouch completely. He was also like Lelouch a master tactician and a good general.

On the other hand, Arthur's skills in other matters suppressed Lelouch in a long range. He was a master fighter and an ace of a pilot on his own right. The very image of a knight of Britannia. And his personality doesn't seem to be like that of Lelouch either or was it because Kallen had not interacted with him?

If that was the case, then Kallen was going to find out.

"Lelouch...are you really trying to hide?"

It was confusing. So confusing that Kallen was having a headache just by thinking of it.

Kallen had requested an Imperial Guard unit to send them to Iowa on board a _Caelaron-_class cruiser. The Guard officers were confused but her status as a Knight of the Rounds and a personal friend of the Empress put aside any questions. She did not however, bring her Zero Squadron with them.

Kallen wanted to make their conversation as private as possible.

There was something about the way that makes the Arfon Knights different from the typical knights of Britannia. Kallen had watched the video images of them attacking the rebel forces and had been amazed by their skill and fighting prowess.

The Arfons had however by their actions caught the intentions of the Black Knight Command and Kallen knew that could be trouble. They had ordered her to keep an eye on him...in other words spy on the knight.

Kallen decided that she will see the knight and walked down to his quarters. She had worn her new Black Knight uniform, a black tunic with her short customised shorts with knee long boots.

Perhaps she thought, if she had worn a Black Knight uniform instead of the Britannian one, Arthur or rather Lelouch would recognise her. It was a childish hope but how could Kallen not help it?

After all, it was the man she loved that was concerned. Kallen would give up everything for it.

On the way, she bumped into the two Arfon knights.

"You must be Lady Kozuki." The foremost of the knights stated.

"Wow. She's prettier than on Television, Gordon." The younger one exclaimed.

"Quiet, Nelson." Gordon hissed. "Forgive him, he's just a lad."

"It's fine." Kallen replied before anything else could happen. "I would like to talk to your commander."

"He is in his quarters." Gordon replied.

Nelson smirked. "He's been brooding in there since we started this trip. Britannians..." He muttered with disgust. Nelson looked sharply at Kallen and quickly waved his hands in apology.

"No offence." He replied with a weak grin.

"None taken." Kallen replied. "I am half Japanese so I understand what you mean."

"Is that so?" The older knight asked.

"Yes...eh...wait...so you're not Britannians?" Kallen looked at them in surprise.

"Nope." Nelson answered. "We're not those stinking coffee drinking popinjays. We're _British_. Not _Britannian_. Same _Brit_ but ends with a..."

Gordon interrupted him before the younger man could any further. "What he is trying to say, milady is that we are not from the Empire but from the Isles."

"Oh. I see. Uh...may I see him now?"

Gordon stepped aside as Kallen walked off.

"I wonder what they're going to do..." Kallen heard Nelson speaking to Gordon.

"Don't let your imagination go wild, come on. We have work to do."

Kallen stood in front of the door, hesitating for a second.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked the door. There was no answer.

"Hello. Lelou...Sir Arthur?"

Again there was nothing.

_Kallen, what's wrong with you..._She chided herself. _It's been more than two years now and you've wanted this so badly!_

Against her better judgement, Kallen tried the door and to her surprise, it was open. As it slid into the wall, the young woman pushed herself into entering the room.

The room was dark almost completely enveloped in shadow if it weren't for the lights from the laptop on the table and a small night lamp on the table. Kallen suppressed the discomfort growing in her. The darkness reminded her of the encounter with those Geass assassins at New Pendragon. It was almost like entering that nightmare again.

But she told herself. This was Lelouch...or rather someone who look like Lelouch...and had saved her life. There was little to fear...she hoped.

"Sir Arthur?" She called again. But she couldn't find anyone in the room and there was no response either.

_Maybe he's not in?_ Kallen thought and was about to go out when her deep blue eyes caught a flicker of light near the table. It was a small violet box gold trimmed. On the cover was a seal: a blood red eye with gold trimmed.

Lelouch's seal.

Curiosity and passion got the better of her and Kallen walked towards the table...and stopped as the door closed behind her. The panel on the wall glowed red indicating it was locked.

Kallen suddenly felt a presence near her and she turned to look into the face of a pair of violet orbs.

"Hello, Kallen. Hello, my little traitor..."

* * *

_Massive heavily armoured figures in heavy furs marched up. Breastplates and greaves and bracers linked together by thick chains to cover most of the giant's flesh. They wielded thick swords, heavy battle axes and warhammers that made the British pole arms look like a bundle of sticks._

_With a terrifying roar they charged forward, stabbing and slashing at anything in their path._ _They used their clubs to knock aside the flights of arrows and volleys of spears, and then crashed into the guardsmen and men-at-arms._

_With their colossal strength, they battered the Britons, sending men flying back and destroying whole units at a time._ _The Saxons began to reform around these massive figures, and more warriors poured in behind them, filling their ranks back out and quickly shifting the numbers back in their favor._

_Gwaine muttered. "Berserkers...I thought they were only a myth."_

"_Change tactics!" Lelouch shouted at the nearest herald, knowing the man would relay the orders with his horn._

"_Small shield units! Pull back to the cliffs and regroup!" The soldier nodded and raised his horn, blowing a short burst and then another. At the sound the unit leaders began shouting orders of their own, gathering their soldiers and retreating while keeping the Saxons at bay. They tried overrunning them but the Britons were clumped too close together and kept their weapons up, jabbing at any Saxon that came too close. Each unit had its shields linked as well, forming a small shield wall all around. The Saxons overwhelmed several units by sheer numbers, crashing into the warriors again and again until they faltered, but most of the British soldiers were able to pull back successfully._

_Lelouch rode along the ranks at the base of the hills, organizing them. He set up another shield wall there, and as each unit retreated to it the wall opened to allow them in, then closed behind them. Those soldiers then reinforced the wall themselves and helped bring other units through safely. Lelouch tasked the archers with keeping the Saxons away from the wall as much as possible, harassing any man that came too close to pulling down a defender. They were taking a heavy toll upon the Saxons, but they was still beaching ships and adding more to the battle with every minute._

"_We cannot hold them for long!" Launcelot shouted to Lelouch. "We need to do something to keep them from reaching the hills! If they do get past us they'll advance straight north to London!"_

"_We need more time!"_

_The brown haired knight smiled. "Leave it to me!"_

_Riding forward, Launcelot jumped over the shield wall and threw himself into the mist of the fighting. _

_Lelouch shouted a protest but it was too late._

_Launcelot slammed his shield onto a berserker's head and threw himself on another warrior, stabbing the man as he fell._

_The knight stood up quickly and brandished his sword and dove in to meet with the next wave of warriors._

_Launcelot's first swing caught the throats of two warriors, the sword blade ripping them open. He grabbed the wrist of one man and threw in a kick into the Saxon's chest. The _Joyeux bit_ into the flesh of another warrior._

_A Saxon swung his sword at the knight narrowly missing him but on the second swing Launcelot grabbed the man's wrist then brought his own sword to slice through the man's guts, taking the fallen warrior's weapon in his left hand._

_Three more Saxons lunged forward with spears. Launcelot deflected their attacks with his duel blades, parrying deflecting blow after blow and launched counter-attacks of his own. A head fell as _Joyeux _cut through a neck. The French sword then pierced through one heart while its Saxon counterpart buried itself on the skull of another._

_Launcelot then let go of _Joyeux _to wrestle with an axeman. The man was much stronger than the young French knight so Launcelot kicked the man's balls and threw a mailed fist into the Saxon's nose._

_The axe was now the knight's and he used it to behead one Saxon._

"**He's fast." The real Lelouch noted. "Just like Suzaku…"**_ In the time it took a man to strike a blow, Launcelot gave two. He fought them, using the axe in short brutal strokes. The first smashed a knee guard protecting one, gutted a spearman and the third fell the first wounded warrior. _

_Tristran joined his fellow knight riding down several warriors attempting to surround the young Frenchman. He shouted a war cry in his native Cornish tongue and slashed his sword down splitting a skull open._

_While the Saxons were distracted by the mounted knight, Launcelot took the advantage to barrel deeper into the Saxons lines. He hacked, slashed and gutted his way through the endless tide of Saxon warriors. Whenever the Saxons swung their weapons, the young French knight would dance his way out, jumping and dodging away._

"_Slaka!" A Saxon lunged forward with a long spear at Tristran's horse while the knight was trading blows with a berserker._

_The young French knight lunged forward taking the man's spear and pulled. The Saxon was running so fast that he could not control his speed and Launcelot sent him running into his fellows._

_A war hammer came down on Launcelot's head but his gauntlet hand gripped the shaft and brought the weapon back down on the owner's skull._

_A spear jabbed at him but he was too quick and avoided the stab. He cut the spear in half with his axe and took the broken shaft and thrust it back into the chest of the Saxon._

_By now Kay and Gwaine had joined into the fray._

_Lelouch watched his friends cut a space between the Saxons and thus he regrouped his men, shoring up the shield wall, and also sent the levy units forward with brush and tinder. They laid fires in the Saxon's path, creating a raging blaze that stopped the Saxons from advancing to the west. That reduced the risk of their surrounding the Britons and made them easier to contain and block._

_Nor were the Saxons slow to notice. Several of the men stepped forward, trying to put out the fire, but British archers shot them down before they could reach the flames. One fell into the fire instead, and screamed as it consumed him. That made the others shrink back again._

_The berserkers were a problem, however. One lumbered through the flames, burning himself but otherwise not slowing down. Lelouch directed a full unit against it but the warrior downed many soldiers, splitting some in two halves before the warrior finally fell._

_Lelouch gritted his teeth._

"_Now, ballistae!" Massive bolts of wood and iron flew behind army lines and prowled their way through the Saxon ranks. The berserkers were huge powerfully built men with drunken minds wearing heavy plate armour but not even that could stand the might of a siege weapon._

_The front two ranks of the berserkers fell as a line of ballistae bolts flew and struck their lines. Some were pierced right into more than one. Others were knocked back off their feet._

_Lelouch hoped it would be enough. The other berserkers hesitated, even their drugged minds able to comprehend the danger, and that gave his men time to target them with arrows and spears. The shield wall still held but the Saxons was massing again, and before long it would be able to simply roll over the defenders, its losses barely diminishing its bulk._

_In the mist, something caught Lelouch's eyes and he shouted a warning._

_A berserker roared as it made its way towards Launcelot. The Saxon swung his massive war hammer which would have crushed the French knight like an insect. He jumped out of the way and watched helplessly as a British soldier with a spear and shield was sent flying by a hammer blow._

_The berserker then turned his attention back to the knight, waving his weapon in slow arcs._

_Launcelot drew his dagger and hurled it. The blade buried on the Saxon's shoulder but the giant did not react to it instead brought down his hammer again which Launcelot barely dodged. He buried his axe blade into the warrior's thigh._

_The Saxon roared with rage and kicked Launcelot like a foot ball sending the emerald eyed knight flying. The man's spike boot would have killed him if the knight wasn't armoured and even then the breastplate was dented by the blow._

"**Suzaku!" The real Lelouch absently shouted.**

"_Launcelot!" Tristran shouted as he, Gwaine and Kay struggled against a fresh wave of Saxon warriors._

_The berserker marched towards him and pulled him up by the breastplate collar. Defiant to the end, Launcelot head-butted the giant with his heavy helm. The Saxon had also worn a masked helm but the blow was unexpected had distracted him if only a moment, the French knight reached for a fallen spear and thrust it through the slit of the Saxon's armour._

_The Saxon roared in pain and threw a heavy fist into the young knight's chest that sent him staggering back. _

_But before he knew it, a black and red figure appeared behind the berserker and a sword beheaded the massive warrior._

_As the warrior fell, a familiar looking knight in jet-black armour appeared on a crimson barded horse._

_Launcelot looked up. "Arthur?"_

"_You're an idiot for running off like that." Lelouch replied._

"**I wonder what Suzaku would say if he sees this," The real Lelouch muttered in amusement.**

"_Ready the cavalry!" Lelouch shouted to his royal guard. _

_Charge? Into that? Launcelot stared at his prince for an instant then shrugged. Their defences could not hold out forever. The knight gladly took a sword from a man at arms and whistled his horse. _

_Lelouch signalled the herald, who blew a might blast. Then those knights on horseback were forming up, and Launcelot swung in with them, placing himself just behind Lelouch, who rode at their head. The shield wall parted for them._

"**You don't seem surprised..." The knight said to Lelouch who just nodded.**

_They crashed into the Saxons' front ranks, carving a path back through the Saxons with lances and swords. _

_They struck the first wave of berserkers first. Not even the berserkers could stand up to the power of a charging war horse. The British horsemen were outnumbered but they were mounted and were armed with heavy lances and mowed through the armoured warriors._

_One berserker was tossed into the air despite his size, the broken lance tip stuck on his dented breastplate. Lelouch slashed and took the top off a skull. He turned left and thrust his sword into the exposed neck of a distracted berserker._

_Some tried to flee but many stand and fought losing themselves into their bloodlust. A rider was knocked off his mount when a berserker swung a heavy club. A horse screamed as a spear struck deep into its chest. The rider fell down only to be torn apart by the savage warriors._

_By this time, many of the cavalrymen had lost their lances and unsheathed their swords and dove into the melee with maniacal savagery. It was hacking work, brutal work, screaming and fast work and many berserkers died._

_Lelouch grinned. He did not have many knights. The royal court was not willing to lend him a contingent of the veteran elite warriors and so he'll have to show those noble bastards what commoners could do._

_And it'd be a pleasure._

"**It seems nothing much had changed..." Lelouch muttered. "History repeats itself after everything."**

_After a minute Lelouch signalled and they wheeled about, the archers providing cover as they swung clear. Then they struck again this time into the Saxon infantry. The warriors were surprised by the fact that their giants were defeated and the charge hit them hard._

_Swords slash and bit._

"_Die, bastard!" A cavalryman shouted as he stabbed a warrior grabbing his rein then kicked the man's face and stabbed him again._

_Lelouch himself was lost in his own blood lust. All the pain, the discrimination by the nobles, all the hardship he had to put through filled his mind and it was time for vengeance. He screamed as he buried a blade into the face of a Saxon and then trampled over another with his horse._

_They were readying for a third charge when a drum beat from somewhere within the Saxons—and the Saxons were running back to their boats._

"_We did it!" Gwaine shouted. "They're retreating back to their ships!"_

_Lelouch heard it and turned to see the warriors retreating back to their boats pursued by the vengeful British cavalry. He saw the Saxon leader again. He was covered in blood and Lelouch thought he nodded to him in respect before boarding his ship._

_Lelouch sighed in relief and fell to the ground from his horse in exhaustion._

"_Prince Arthur!" He heard the men shout but Lelouch did not care as he laid on the dirty ground. He had won his first battle._

_

* * *

_

**Meanwhile at Kentucky**

"Missiles! Evade!"

"Left wing advance!"

"For the Empress!"

"All hail Britannia!"

"Die, traitors!"

The battle raged between the Imperial and rebel forces dove in savagery and brutality that Britannians were known for as knights fought and kill knights. Wreckages of Knightmares rained down the ground as explosions littered the air.

"Lord Oxbridge, we have broken the Imperial left." A purist officer said.

"Very good, keep up with the attack. We must destroy this force before the loyalists can arrive."

It had been a good plan. Oxbridge knew that the Imperial forces were trying to meet up with the loyalist troops in Kentucky and thus he quickly launched an attack to decimate the Imperial strike force while they were divided.

He watched as an Imperial _Logres_ cruiser dropped burning while a hundred missiles and cannon shells rained on the ship. Around him other ships fell as the rebel forces overwhelmed through the Imperial fleet.

His household _Vincent_ _Wards_ and their _Vincent_ Commanders spearheaded the attack led by his old friend Colonel Nathan Knolles. The elite of the Purist were his men who the bearded noble had prepared for so long. Among them, two of his heavily modified _Logres _cruisers advance along with the Knightmares, supporting heavy blasts of Hadron beams. The giant Hadron cannon that was used at New England had been mass-produced into a smaller version to all Purist fleets giving them the extra fire power.

On the right, a barrage of missiles downed a _Caelaron_ as the green and gold air ship burnt in great fire.

A group of rebel _Caelarons_ started forward firing missiles and Hadron blasts as they go while squadrons of _Gloucesters_ and _Vincent Wards_ flew ahead like a swarm of bees eager to destroy their enemy.

General Alexandros' ship, the _Lionheart_ stood in defiant against the tide on the flank despite rapidly losing its escort ships.

"My lord General! We've lost the _Loren_ and the _Brian_ has taken severe hits."

Another officer called. "Sir, the _Great Swan_ going down!"

"Everyone pull yourself together!" Alexandros bellowed, slamming a fist on his chair. "Tell the Red and Green squadrons to provide cover for the flanks. The rest of the squads engage those _Caelarons! _Where are the Wolfblades? I want them to cover this line!"

"General! Enemy ships are targeting the _Lionheart_!"

The veteran warrior shouted. "Evade!"

Streams of Hadron beams passed just shy of the _Logres_-class ship. The surrounding units were not so lucky. A blast took down a _Caelaron_ that was on the verge of destruction ending the unfortunate ship.

Another torrent of crimson energy lanced towards the ship.

"30 degrees port!" Alexandros shouted. "Pull us out of range!"

The Hadron beam was too quick and it struck the right wing of the _Lionheart_.

"General, our wing is hit."

Alexandros was about to comment the officer when another officer shouted.

"Knightmares! _Gareths_! They're heading towards us!"

On the screen, a dozen massive grey and gold Knightmares accelerated towards the crippled ship .

"Take them down!"

The _Lionheart_'s gunnery crews suddenly came to life as lead and missiles rain down from the ship. Some of the rebels were struck down quickly. One _Gareth_'s arm exploded as a missile struck it. Another was torn apart in a stream of sabot rounds.

While many of the _Gareths_ were forced to pull out, one of the grey and gold Knightmare managed to survive the barrage and flew straight to the command bridge of the _Logres_.

"Stop him!" The ship captain shouted.

A volley of missiles were fired out from a turret but the _Gareth_ fired its own missiles to cancel the attack and proceeded its way to the bridge and aimed its Hadron cannon.

The bridge stared at the Knightmare as the cannon prepared to fire.

"Emily..." Harold Alexandros muttered.

However, before they knew it a large blue spike flew in and struck the machine full in the chest. As the _Gareth_ staggered back, a blue and white form shot down pass the grey and gold machine and tore it in half.

"You boys alright?" A voice came and the video screen showed a grinning blond young man.

"Nice time to drop by, lad." Alexandros laughed. "What took you so long?"

"I was in the neighbourhood," Gino said. "And I thought I'd drop by. Now how can the Knight of Three be of any service?"

Alexandros quickly analysed the situation. "We need to break through that line or the bastards will flank us. Hold them off until reinforcements arrive."

Gino nodded. "How long do you need?"

"Just ten minutes."

"I'll give you fifteen!" With that Gino Weinberg drove his machine into Knightmare mode.

The blue and white figure transformed, shooting out arms and legs and a gold horn on the fore head with crimson eyes. The Knightmare resembled to the _Tristan_ in shape, size, function and colour. There was more armour now on the chest as well as the arms with gold trim along the white body. There were twin crimson wings, now larger and longer. The first pair was slightly smaller than the second to help its aerial performance.

It had a new faceplate as well; this one akin to a samurai mask with glowing red eyes and blue in colour.

"Let's see you can handle the_ Lamorak!_"

The Knight of Three zoomed passed a squadron of _Gloucesters_ who were firing rifles, cannon and slash harkens at him. The heavy barrage would have overwhelmed a normal pilot but Gino was a Knight of the Round, one of the finest pilots the world had ever seen and he avoided them all with practice ease.

He stretched out his arms and launched his two over-sized slash harkens. The dark blue rocket projectiles flew out and manoeuvred through the missiles and debris as if they had intelligence of their own. They smashed through half a dozen Knightmares in a few seconds, striking the ones on the flanks.

The _Gloucesters_ in the centre trained their weapons on the _Lamorak_ delivered a barrage of sabot rounds, missiles and cannon fire.

"Heh, amateurs!" Gino barked and easily avoided the attack. At the same time, he twisted his joystick and the slash harkens swept across each other striking the _Gloucesters_ between them. Seven of the purple machines were struck and knocked off the skies.

As the slash harkens started retracted to the _Lamorak_'s arms, the foremost of the _Gloucesters_ raised their lances and charged forward hoping to take the Knight with a lucky thrust.

Gino grinned as their attempt and calmly allowed his slash harkens to return and upon their return, the _Lamorak_ slammed its arms together merging the arm mounted harkens together. A bust of blue and white energy shot out and blasted into the charging _Gloucesters_.

The electromagnetic rail cannon ploughed its way through the massed purple machines like a blade through flesh and ended with a massed explosion.

Even after that several _Gloucesters_ appeared from the smoke, their lances thirsty for blood.

"Want some more?" Gino taunted. The _Lamorak_ then dodge one of the lance thrusts and its hands reached behind over his shoulders. The first pair of wings turned and folded about turning akin to the scabbards akin to the _Lancelot_ series.

Two golden hints appeared and the wings turned purple and glowed becoming MVS weapons. The wings had become swords.

With his new weapons, the Knight of Three sliced the charging _Gloucester_ in half, parrying a second thrust before decapitating it.

He blocked a swing from another _Gloucester_ and sliced its hand off. Gino then brought one arm up and fired his oversized slash harken at point blank range.

The attack knocked the purple Knightmare off the air where it struck its coming companion as well.

"_This is the _Prince of Wales!_ The enemy has breached the first line! I repeat, the enemy has breached the first line. Our centre is exposed I repeat. Our centre is exposed!"_

"What the hell?" Gino muttered as he cut down another _Gloucesters_. "How did they do that? I was there just a few minutes ago!"

"_Gino, lad! This is Alexandros! Pull out and support the centre!"_

"But they'll flank us if I do that!"

"_Aye! But the centre is more important...what the..."_

"General?" Gino asked and turned to see a black and gold flashed across the sky.

"_It's Zero!" _A voice cried out. _"It's Lord Zero!"_

Before he could comprehend anything else, explosions had started to littered across the centre as the black and gold light had struck them.

The rebels clearly did not expect Zero to personally show up and they paused in confusion and fear. Gino grinned and took advantage of the situation, changing into fortress mode and firing his rail gun.

Another new feature of the _Lamorak_ was that it did not need to fire out its slash harkens to fire out its rail gun. Of course, he had done it a lot as if it was the _Tristan_ out of old habit and because it looks much cooler.

As he ploughed his way through the rebel ranks, more Knightmares were appearing on his side. They were black and gold _Vincents_, Britannian knights part of Zero's personal guard. They drew out their new upgrade purple MVS blades and entered the fray by his side.

Now, the rebels had realised that they were in trouble and started to fall back. From his position he finally got a look at Zero in the centre of the line.

Dozens of Knightmare attacked him, all wanting the glory of killing the protector of the world they want to destroy. _Gloucesters, Vincents, Vincent Wards, Sutherlands,_ even _Portman II_ swarmed the black and gold figure.

Then suddenly the Knightmare's crimson eyes lit up, the light flew up firing green beams down on the cloud descending on it. Explosions littered the trail of Zero. Then the light turned back and charge through the swarm of Knightmares like a sword.

It turned about suddenly and a crimson beam of a Hadron cannon fired from it destroying the trail of Knightmares in a single blast. The beam continued to drag down and sliced through a rebel warship like a giant blade destroying at once.

But Zero was not done yet, then a second blast fired and this time it went straight into the leading _Logres_ ship striking the bridge.

Gino let out a low whistle as the ship fell burning from the skies. Now that was some amazing Knightmare skills.

His smile faded away as soon as Zero's Knightmare appeared from the smoke.

It wasn't Zero himself of course. Rather it was what the Knightmare reminded him of.

The black and gold machine had gold energy wings wielding two long barrelled VARIS rifles appeared. It was almost identical to another Knightmare that haunt Gino's mind.

The _Lancelot Rei_...Zero's personal Knightmare.

"Suzaku..." For not for the first time, Gino mourned his old friend. Suzaku was not a real bad guy at heart. He was a little cuckoo compare to many people and seeing what he had gone through in his life the Knight of Three could not blame him and he had always...always tried to be supportive of the Japanese knight and defend him from those stereotype racist bastards that plagued the ranks.

It was surely that damn Lelouch's fault. Yes, he had twisted the Japanese knight's already damaged mind. And for that Gino would never forgive the demonic bastard even if he was already dead.

"I wish you could see this world Zero created, buddy." Gino muttered. "Heh, I still can't believe that the man we've been so crazy to take down had been the same guy who saved us all. Haha, I can soo see your face. We wouldn't have needed to fight then."

The blond Knight of Three watched sadly at the _Lancelot_ unit as turned the battle around single handedly.

* * *

_Kallen watched in surprise as a tall lean cloaked figure appeared in front of her, his eyes glowing crimson._

"_Kallen...how could you do this to me?" Lelouch said, his words bitter and poisoned._

"_I didn't mean to! What you were doing...you were..." Kallen protested._

"_I had thought that among all, I could trust you. It seems I was wrong. CC was right. There was no one else I could trust..." Lelouch all but spat the words._

_Kallen felt her chest being torn apart. "No! You can trust me! I told you if I would follow you to..."_

"_Hell?" Lelouch scoffed. "Then I will see you in hell." He drew out his pistol. Not at her but at himself._

"_Lelouch...what are you..."_

"_Good bye, Kallen."_

"_NO!" Kallen shouted as the bullet pierce through his head. She gasped in horror as Lelouch remained standing blood pouring down his head._

"_So what do you want?"_ _He asked. As he did, his hair was lightening turning grey then white while his eyes from Geass glowing crimson back to purple...then into sky blue._

"I won't ask again." The white haired Lelouch asked. "What do you want?"

Kallen stood facing the man who had once admired, the man who had saved her life, the man who had given his life for hers...the man she fell in love with.

"I..." She started. "I wanted to ask you something." Before Kallen knew it, she found a sword blade just inches from her neck. She knew that the blade would pierce through her unguarded flesh if she tried anything foolish.

The white haired Lelouch's eyes narrowed. "And what kind of question do the Black Knights ask of me?"

"It's not for the Black Knights!" Kallen almost started forward and ended up getting skewered on the sharp sword tip. Instead she fidgeted with the corner of her tunic.

The red knight lowered his sword and turned away.

"Then leave."

Kallen was surprised by his reaction. Had he just told her off?

"You said you served Lelouch." Kallen said rather sharply.

Arthur paused. He stood there in silent. Kallen thought she saw his hand shifting slightly.

"So you've come to finish the job?" She heard a familiar click sound and knew what he was trying to do.

"No." Kallen raised both hands to show that she was unarmed. "I...just want to talk...I wanted to speak to you."_ Lelouch...please...tell me..._

The white haired Lelouch stood unmoving then she heard a second click and Arthur turned to his bed and sat on it.

He did not look at her but did not say anything either. Encouraged that he was willing to listen, Kallen dared to open her mouth again.

"What was he like?" She asked. "As the Emperor I mean..." Kallen knew Lelouch was known as the monstrous dictator but she wanted to hear it from someone who was close to him...or if it was him. Whatever the case, she wanted to hear the words from the mouth of the man who might be him.

"You people call him the Demon King of Britannia." Arthur stated rather accusingly at her. "You people say he was the most blood thirsty warlord in history and a power hungry monster that put even the bastard Charles Zi Britannia in shame." He had literally spat all the words and Kallen unconsciously stepped back, wondering if he was going to attack her.

"_But Lelouch hated his father as well...It might still be him..."_

"That was what he is." Arthur suddenly ended it.

Kallen's eyes widened, suddenly angered. She had gone through all the trouble so that she was going to hear at least something good about Lelouch and here was the knight who sworn to protect Nunnally in the place of Britannia telling her that he was a demon.

"Then why do you serve him? Why did you tell Nunna...I mean her Majesty that you served Lelouch? Why did you say that you will fulfil his last wish!"

Arthur scoffed. "That is none of your concern. I don't expect people like you to understand."

_So only people like you and her?_ And Kallen suddenly saw the green haired witch smirking at her. Anger filled her chest and she was glad the doors were close as Kallen's mouth shout out in outrage.

"I DO UNDERSTAND!" Kallen screamed, stomping her foot hard. "I watched from the side lines as he squirmed from the decisions he was forced to make. The pain he had endured when he thought he lost his only sister. The fact that he had no choice but to go through the path of blood that only harmed everyone he loved." Kallen could feel the tears in her eyes flowing down absently but she did not care. "He was all alone in that path of destruction and he still faced it for the sake of everyone...I watched so haplessly. I was his bodyguard. I was the leader of his Elite Guard..."

Arthur stood up and walked to his desk, ignoring her. "So you say..." Although his tone said that he did not believe her one bit. "But in truth...You were _Zero_'s bodyguard. Just because they're both geniuses doesn't mean they're the same person. Please, don't get that mixed up. Why don't you just..."

"GOD DAMN IT, LISTEN TO ME!" Kallen had lunged forward and grabbed Lelouch by his collar.

"I KNOW THE TRUTH!" Kallen all but shouted in Lelouch's face. "I KNOW IT! STOP LYING TO ME! I KNOW THAT YOU GOT YOURSELF KILLED FOR YOUR PLAN OF WORLD PEACE! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU BASTARD?"

Arthur looked at her surprised by the outburst. Only then Kallen realised what she was doing and released him.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, backing away.

Arthur said nothing, staring at her curiously.

_Maybe it is not him..._ Kallen thought, embarrassed by the thought that she might have reacted in such a way to someone who was not Lelouch.

The white haired Lelouch grunted in what might have been a nod. He turned his attention to adjust his crumpled crimson uniform.

"I...I knew Lelouch was Zero." Kallen said to him, her eyes downcast. "I knew it. I was loyal to him...No...I am still loyal to him. I too want his death to be justified. I want to..."

Then suddenly there was an alarm.

"Trouble?" Arthur muttered as he darted out of the room with Kallen in tail.

"Why does this always happen to me...?"Kallen muttered.

They quickly got to the bridge.

The Imperial lieutenant turned to watch them.

"My lady, we have enemy Knightmares incoming."

Arthur frowned. "Already?" He stepped up to take a closer look at the IFF screen.

There was a large blue dot coming towards them surrounded by a number of smaller ones.

"They're here?" Kallen asked.

Arthur didn't answer instead he went to the console and started pressing some buttons. He zoomed into the map as if trying to understand it.

"Local rebels." He muttered. The red knight then pressed his com-link. "Glory seekers. Thirsty for blood." He smirked. "They want blood. They'll get it. Nelson, Gordon. Get to your Knightmares."

He turned to the Lieutenant. "Once they've deployed, take this ship to the Kentucky-Iowa border as soon as possible." The officer stared nervously not daring to protest against the man who looked like the dead Emperor and looked uncertainly at Kallen first. The Knight of Two seeing little choice but to trust the man, nodded to the Lieutenant.

As the officer turned to speak, Kallen noticed that he didn't say anything to her. He had given almost everyone else an order. Does he think that she's not needed here? Fuming the half-Japanese woman stepped up behind him.

"Ahem." She coughed.

"Are you doing anything?" He asked, without turning to her.

"I'm going too." She snapped. "Don't stop me." Her eyes daring him to protest. Instead he just shrugged.

"You're a Knight of the Round. I have no authority over you."

Kallen glared at him as Arthur/Lelouch studied the IFF screen.

"Twenty _Gloucesters_ and Twelve _Vincent Wards _led by three _Vincents_." Arthur summed up. "It shouldn't be a problem for you would it?" He said it with barely concealed contempt.

"Watch me." Kallen snarled and stormed off the bridge.

* * *

"Ha!" Jeremiah cried out as he avoided the rifle butt of a rebel soldier and stepped up and sliced his neck open with a single slash. Stepping back, the cyborg smashed his elbow into another breaking his ribs then wheeled a front kick to break the spine of one more.

Bullets pinged and flashed off his metallic chest plate and mask which thanks to Cecile had been upgraded into covering his entire face. The rebel soldiers fired relentlessly in full automatic forcing to step back.

"Take him down!" The captain shrieked through his mask, his voice sounding more like a sci-fi alien than a man.

Jeremiah grinned, taking pleasure in the man's fear and strode forward in the storm of bullets, never breaking his stride.

"Charge!" The surviving soldiers with activated their retractable bayonets and lunged at him.

Jeremiah shrugged his shoulders with a laugh at the charging men with their blades glittering in the hall lights.

"Is that all?" He asked calmly, his orange mask giving him an image of a demonic jester. "If you want blades, then it shall be an honour." Jeremiah gave the armoured snarling soldiers a mocking bow. The zealous knight then lashed out his left hand which shot out a second golden blade.

Crossing the blades together, Jeremiah muttered quiet. "For Master Lelouch...ALL HAIL LELOUCH!"

He dove in to meet their charge, his arms spread out like wings. The master fighter leapt up spinning avoiding the thrusts of the first soldiers who speed right pass him. One swing of his blade beheaded a surprised soldier. Jeremiah easily parried a wild thrust and slid the man's throat with his left blade.

Jeremiah then bent low and thrust his right blade into an armoured chest. Wheeling back, the cyborg then parried a bayonet thrust on the back and took the top off a skull. Dancing back, he split the chest of another soldier.

A bayonet thrust at Jeremiah's back but it never met his target as he tripped the unfortunate rebel out. The man was sent stumbling forward and accidently stabbed his bayonet into the chest of charging soldier.

Horrified, the soldier released his weapon and turned to have his head sliced in half.

Jeremiah danced his way through the rebels, gracefully slaughtering the men who tried to ruin his lordship's dream. His robotic upgrades plus his own impressive skills had made him the most deadly hand to hand combatant in mankind yet.

As he eviscerated another attacker, two large sergeants lunged forward to defend their commander.

"Come and test me!" Jeremiah said as he brought one golden blade down. The sergeant raised his carbine to block it and the weapon snapped in half as it contacted the blade. The swing continued and cut through the sergeant's brains.

The second sergeant seeing his weapon useless threw the firearm at the cyborg. Jeremiah caught the rifle in one hand and tossed it aside, bouncing off the far wall, broken in two.

The soldier took the time to draw out two combat daggers. Brandishing them in a display of a great knife fighter, the sergeant readied in a fighting stance. Then with a feral snarl, he lunged forward.

Jeremiah smirked and slashed.

One of the sergeant's blades slashed down...only that the arm suddenly fell out in mid air blood trailing from it. Jeremiah swung about and sliced off the other arm.

The soldier fell to his knees in shock watching his hacked limbs. Giving the man mercy, Jeremiah waved one arm, beheading the poor soldier.

A bullet grazed off his mask as the section captain struggled to resist. After emptying his entire clip on Jeremiah's mask without a dent, the officer made his last stand drawing his sabre and slashed to meet the cyborg's golden blade.

The blades met and the sabre scattered like glass. Jeremiah withdrew his blades to interrogate the man, smacking the broken sword away from him. The captain refused to give up and threw in a gauntlet fist at Jeremiah's face which left him with broken knuckles.

Grabbing the rebel officer by the neck, Jeremiah held him against the wall.

"Where is it?" Jeremiah asked.

The soldier shook his head violently. Orange tightened his grip.

"I won't say it again."

The officer opened his mouth to speak when he suddenly screamed in agony as his eyes suddenly flared red. Before he knew it, the man was dead.

Jeremiah just smirked dropping the corpse. The Cultist had made sure that none of these men would ever revealed information.

"Lord Jeremiah!" Dunford and a squad of Arfons arrived around him in Britannian armour, their distinctive red shoulder plates not glowing at all to the lights around them.

"Everything according to plan?"

"All squads have infiltrated the base." Dunford said, half panting. "We've taken both the eastern and western wings."

Jeremiah nodded. "Alright then, we'll head down to their research facilities. Bring more men here."

"Aye." Dunford started giving orders through his radio while Jeremiah and the rest headed down the elevator. They met resistance in the form of auto-turrets and shock troops but otherwise proved to be minor threats.

As Jeremiah cut down the last soldier, he felt a strange presence from a door. A very familiar presence. A presence he had not felt for a long time.

_They're here._

"Dunford, gather the remaining squads and put them in Point B and E."

"I'm sorry?" The captain questioned.

"Do it. There's something behind here."

As Dunford gave the orders, the dark skinned man pulled himself beside Jeremiah.

"Geass?" He whispered. Jeremiah nodded and drew out his blade.

"You," He pointed at one trooper. "Set a charge."

They took positions as the warrior pressed a charge and let it blast the door open.

They quickly stormed into the door and watched aghast at the sight that filled them.

The entire room was dark, illuminated only by the lights from the computers and the glows of the liquid tanks.

"My god. What the hell is going on here?" One of the soldiers muttered.

Neither Jeremiah or Dunford answered. They entered the facility silently, wary to awaken anything inside.

"This place looks exactly like the Geass Directorate back in China." Jeremiah muttered to the Arfon knight. Memories of the experiments and the brain washing programs entered the mind of the zealous warrior.

"Why am I not surprised..." Dunford muttered. "I've seen my share of Geass in this life and the abuse of it by _them_. The Order has been fighting against them for so long but your master managed to crush them in a little more than a day."

"Of course." Jeremiah replied with not a little pride. "He is Lelouch after all. I for one believe it in my bones that he's King Arthur resurrected."

"We shall see." Dunford said, cocking his rifle doubt filling his voice.

Jeremiah snorted.

He knew that Harry Dunford, or whatever his real name was, was _a lot_ older than he appeared to be. Rumours say he was a direct decedent of the original Knights of the Round Table.

And because of that Jeremiah did not find offence from him for doubting Lelouch.

The Order of Arfon had been a very mysterious and enigmatic group. And from what he had learnt, they were heavily connected to the Arthurian legend. While the Britannian Empire had often given namesakes to the old myth, they were little more than honouring the ancient king and his legendary knights.

The Arfons however, seemed to be more connected to it than it seems. When the Grand Master had approached Jeremiah, Anya and Sayoko at their farm back in Japan, they were little more than surprised to hear of it and that Lelouch was part of the ancient prophecy.

Jeremiah had been honoured to serve them. There was no greater honour for a Britannian knight to give his services in the name of Pendragon. To him Lelouch _was_ King Arthur himself and his sacrifice was the proof of it!

And thus, he, Sayoko and Anya had joined as agents of the Arfon order. Anya was now currently serving Her Majesty as a Knight of the Round as the Order had made it clear to protect the young Empress. It was an easy to hide the fact from the more radical Imperials especially due to Anya's quiet nature.

As they made their way through, one of the Arfons called from his com-link in attempt to not alert anyone in the room.

"Sir, over here."

Jeremiah and Dunford followed the man and watched as the small group faced a dark figure.

Dunford pressed his com-link. "Surround him."

The knights had spread out, aiming their weapons at the unknown figure.

The figure was blissfully unaware of the six armed men and a cyborg, so focused he was on a control panel. As he passed a glowing tank, his garments revealed to be that of a white long lab-coat which meant the man was a researcher.

Jeremiah nodded to the foremost of the knight who hurled his rifle to the back and silently lunged forward and buried a knife into the back of the man's skull and twisted.

The researcher did not cry out but let out a short sigh and fell to the ground. The cyborg made his way to the control panel and raised his visor mask to take a good look at it.

"This is the place." Jeremiah declared. "Plant them now."

The Arfons spread out the facility, taking out explosives and putting them at different locations silently. There were still several researchers inside and were quickly taken care of.

It was done so easily that Jeremiah was starting to get suspicious. Dunford shared it as well giving him a glance.

The last of the soldiers arrived to join them.

"Sir, everything is ready. We can..."

He was cut off as a spinning blade pierced through his helmet and skull.

Jeremiah lowered his visor down up and drew his sword.

Then the shadows fell upon them.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" The sergeant of one of the infiltrating squads asked.

"Hear what, Sergeant?"

"That..." The loyalist non-commissioned officer listened carefully, gripping his carbine harder.

He slowly walked down the corridor and turned his weapon there.

There was nothing.

Thinking that his mind was playing tricks, the soldier turned and watched in alarm as he faced a new figure behind his men.

The rifles all turned to the newcomer. He was a young man with cyan coloured hair, dressed in a white uniform with a silver cloak and had worn some gold armour. His eyes were strangely gold.

"Have you lost your way boys?" The man called cheerfully. "Perhaps I can help you..." His left eye suddenly turned crimson with a strange bird like symbol in the pupil.

"If you obey my commands..."

The soldiers raised their weapons high and stomp their foot.

"YES, MILORD!" They roared.

As the soldiers froze in their position, the cyan haired man turned around.

"Ah, Castor my brother, you called?" The man suddenly said. "Ah, good. Let the attack begin!"

* * *

**Cliff Hanger! Sorry, it was just getting too long. So how was it? Please review so I can improve it. Next chapter: the Face of a Lover.  
**


	20. Chapter 5: The Awaited Encounter

**Opps! Sorry. Accidently replaced chapter 19 with Chapter 20. Corrected already, though spelling and other errors maybe there. Please let me know if there are. Thanks :) **

**Finally feeling better so I'm going to update both stories ASAP. Hope you enjoy them! ^^**

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* * *

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**Iowa Purist Base**

The base commander watched with growing horror as the crimson and silver _Vincent_ caused chaos and flame in the battlefield.

It was only one knightmare against many and there was not a large gap in tech difference either!

The _Vincent_ was also leading and directing the remnants of the loyalist forces against the damaged targets in the base and it was already bad enough that a number of their infantry had gone through.

"Surround him! Spread out and surround him!"

Their auto turrets fired covering fire attempting to move the crimson Knightmare into their massed _Wards_ but the red knight would flick here, firing then disappear again into another area attacking their Knightmare from behind their back.

The loyalist forces took advantage of it, using their VTOL gunships and tanks to shoot down any of the rebels that were distracted.

The commander could not believe his eyes. Here were some of the best troops of the Purist Alliance and they were being slaughtered by a single Knightmare and a bunch of ragged tag fools with outdated weapons?

It was insane. He watched haplessly as three _Vincent Wards_ engaged the red knight. The first one swung his MVS blades and which the _Vincent_ just merely avoided then drove in a kick at the second _Ward_.

The third _Ward_ activated its stun-tonfa and swung hard in which its crimson opponent just disappeared in a flash.

A _Gareth_ joined the fray firing its missiles as it came. The missiles burst out in and as if with intelligence of their own, chased after the red Knightmare.

The red and silver _Vincent_ danced around them letting them explode harmlessly charging towards the _Gareth_. It fired its assault rifle at the grey and gold machine but other than scratching its armour, it did very little damage. The massive Knightmare then brought up one arm Hadron cannon and showed how to do real damage.

The crimson-black beam missed the _Vincent _by a few inches and it was right behind the _Gareth_. The rebel pilot barked a surprise and swung one arm, using its bulk to smash the red knight until it could get a better shot. With swiftness akin to a real human, the _Vincent_ avoided it and kept on firing its assault rifle then let loose a grenade.

The grenade struck the _Gareth_'s head and chest denting its armour. With a roar of anger, the rebel charged after the annoying red Knightmare, raining machine gun rounds at it.

"There's something about this knight." Lord Wilde commented watching the dog fight with interest.

The base commander nodded. "He's the same irritating bastard that blew up the cannon."

"Perhaps." The white-coated aristocratic murmured. Wilde noticed that there was something different about this pilot. Something that doesn't seem too right.

A soldier dressed in black and grey armour appeared at the door.

"My lord! The enemy! They've taken the Engineering bay!"

The base commander cursed but Wilde only nodded. "Gather my Guards, Aaron."

With that the gold laced nobleman went out.

The base commander forgot all about Wilde and focused on the battle at hand when he saw two explosions blooming.

From the purple parts, he guessed they were the _Wards_ engaging the red knight. The last one crossed blades with the _Vincent_ who had drawn one of its MVS blades using it like a short sword.

With a swift swing, the _Vincent_ had scattered the _Ward_'s lances. The purple Knightmare withdrew its weapons and brought up its stun tonfas. Before the _Ward_ had any chances, a grey wedged shape passed them letting loose of a stream of sabot rounds that tore the purple machine into pieces.

The fighter jet flew about as the _Gareth_ turned its guns on the plane. As it raised its Hadron cannon, a missile flew and struck it with a boom ruining it completely.

Then suddenly a flight of more _Vampire_ fighters wheeled firing missile after missile at the bulky Knightmare. With one hand gone, the _Gareth _pulled itself out of the line of fire but the fighters came in too quickly and it shook from the missile impacts until one of them struck its head and ending the rebel pilot's life.

Before the base commander knew it, the customised _Vincent _appeared right in front of their tower window.

"Oh Fuc..."

The red Knightmare raised its rifle and pressed the trigger.

* * *

%%%

The force of Knightmares hovered above the _King's Daughter_ like a pack of vultures. Their commanders the three _Vincent_ _Commanders Models_ in green and maroon led the assault in three different groups.

The first group made its move the violet mass of _Gloucesters_ descended down...and all exploded as a crimson wave overwhelmed them.

The _Vincent_ Commander of the group leapt out drawing its MVS lances. Two _Wards_ flanked him.

"What the heck was...?" A violet and red light flashed out from the horizon and darted towards them. The _Wards _charged forward to meet it...and exploded as they touched it scattering into pieces.

The _Vincent_ pulled back and raised its double swords high and braced itself. The red MVS blades swung...and shattered.

Before the smoky explosions, a violet and red light glowed blinding the skies. A metallic crimson sheen materialised in the middle.

The 7th generation Knightmare watched haplessly as a metallic silver arm appeared on his video screen and skewered him.

The arm continued its flight, running through Knightmare after Knightmare. As if satisfied with its hunger, the arm returned to its body.

The _Guren SEITEN_'s eyes glowed in challenge to its enemies as explosions illuminated around it.

The second group of Knightmares charged forward to avenge their comrades' deaths. Their commander slashed his MVS down. As one, the _Gloucesters_ and _Vincent Wards_ fired their rifles, cannons and missiles.

The barrage of sabot rounds, cannon shells and missiles flew on the red glowing figure.

Kallen smirked. "Oh, please."

With but a raise of her right hand, she blocked the entire fearsome barrage with her radiant shield.

Through the smoke, Kallen charged out screaming at her enemies. She raised her arm and fired a burst of radiant energy boiling them until their armour bubbled, destroying its _Yggdrasil _Drive, and causing the entire frame to explode.

The blast took down almost half of the entire group, littering the skies with orange fire balls.

With that, she drew out her MVS fork Knife and plunged herself into the fray. Kallen twisted the _Guren SEITEN_ around and let loose a radiant wave stream towards a pair of _Gloucesters_ who were still switching their rifles over their lances. They both boiled and exploded.

Kallen twisted and dodged a lance thrust then decapitate the _Gloucester _wielding it and thrust the violet blade into the Knightmare's _Yggdrasil _Drive. As the Knightmare exploded, a _Vincent Ward_ with an MVS lance charged swung at her but Kallen sliced the blue-purple machine in half with a flick of her energy wings.

Kallen then lowered her slash harkens and fired at a pair of _Gloucesters_ right in their cockpits. She then turned around and with her MVS sliced a _Ward_ who was trying to back stab her in the torso cutting the Knightmare into two.

A pair of _Gloucesters_ led by a _Ward_ charged at her from three different directions. Despite the dark ambitions of these rebels, Kallen had to admit that they were brave men. Or was it that they had completely no idea who they were dealing with? Britannian arrogance? She pouted her lips in distaste.

A most likely answer.

With that Kallen closed her wings together, forming a protective energy shield as the lances and MVS blade struck.

The wings flickered in electricity as the weapons touched it and they lashed back out. The weapons were back out, a golden lance broken in two while its companion's head was completely melted.

As for the Master Vibration Sword, the crimson weapon was sent flying pass the _Vincent_ Commander. Its wielder, the _Vincent Ward _along with the two _Gloucesters_ was now in three separate burning pieces dropping down in free fall.

Her system suddenly screamed in warning and Kallen instinctively brought one wing to block an exploding shell in the sky. Before she knew it, the Knight of Two was facing two dozen surface-to-air missiles flying towards her.

Changing her radiant surger to spray mode, Kallen unleashed a wave of radiant blast down the bombardment, pre-detonating them, leaving her only a barrage of tiny metal pieces.

"There're more of them?" Kallen muttered as she activated her long range scanners. On the ground, new targets had appeared. _Sutherlands_, _Gloucesters, Glasglows_ even _Knight Police_ frames appeared on the ground in large groups.

As Kallen was busy taken by the surprise attack, she belatedly saw a group of _Gloucesters_ flying towards the _King's Daughter_.

"Damn..." She cursed and was about to turn her arm when some of the purple Knightmares exploded.

A flash of silver and blue swept past the sky leaving the purple figures scattering in its wake. Kallen zoomed in to take a closer look.

It was a customised _Vincent_, the same _Vincent_ as the one Arthur had used only silver and blue. Its head however was a similar version of a _Gloucester_, a single horned helm with a V-visor. Its arms were built differently as well. The right arm was armed with the needle blazer like the _Vincent_ but its left arm was built with a bracer like arm like the _Lancelot_'s blaze luminous shield.

Three _Gloucesters_ charged at the new Knightmare their lances at the ready. The silver machine's visor glowed crimson and charged to meet the violet Knightmares' attack. A golden lance struck the emerald shield with a shower of sparks and sent the weapon flying back. Its wielder then threw a heavy fisted punch that contacted with blue electric sparks sending the _Gloucester _staggering back with a dented chest plate.

The Knightmare then swung its Blaze Luminous armoured arm right to smash a lance thrust down then suddenly grabbed the machine around and pulled it in the way of the lance of the last charging _Gloucester._ The golden weapon skewered through the purple the _Gloucester_ pilot tried to recover from the shock of killing a comrade, the _Vincent_-like machine turned pulling its needle blazer up and blasted a hole into the machine.

Whoever it was Kallen nodded in awe about the sheer fighting strength of the silver Knightmare.

"_Don't worry, milady."_ Gordon's voice came in. _"We'll protect the ship._"

As the _Gloucester_ dropped lifelessly down, the first _Gloucester_ came back up the pilot's heart filled with vengeance. But before it could even think about attacking, it exploded as a green beam pierce through its chest. A second beam struck its companion blasting its _Float _system then a third at its destroying it as well.

Kallen blinked. Was that a VARIS rifle?

Before they knew it, a red, green and grey wedge form swept through the carnage firing its green coloured beam again and again with rapid accuracy. It resembled the _Tristan_ and its successor's fortress mode but was shaped more like a jet fighter. Under its head or what Kallen assumed to be the cockpit it had a long barrelled weapon.

The enemy _Wards _and _Gloucesters_ returned fire with assault rifles, grenades and cannon but the machine was far too fast. It retaliated with back with its green beam weapon. A _Ward_ used its MVS to block a blast letting it be destroyed as well then lunged forward with its stun-tonfas. That was when Kallen knew she was correct about the VARIS rifle for at the mouth of the red and grey machine's weapon a glowing green sphere formed and fired blasting the _Ward _into pieces with a single blast.

The _Vincent_ Commander decided to deal with the interlopers with its own hands and charged head on at Gordon. Being an advance model, it reached its target in mere seconds.

The silver machine fired out chest-slash harkens at the _Vincent_ but the Commander Model dodged them at ease and brought out its needle blazer.

Kallen wanted to shout a warning to the machine as a large electronic explosion lashed out. To her relief, the silver Knightmare was left unharmed. Gordon brought out his own needle blazer and showed how it was done by blasting a hole in the _Vincent_.

Gordon chuckled. _"Have to do better than that ye bastard. The _Alymere _will hold up to anything."_

"_He's mine!"_ Nelson's voice shouted._ "Fight me you bugger!"_

The rebel _Vincent_ turned to face the red and grey machine and fired its slash harkens. Nelson dodged both attacks with ease where it body suddenly shifted and started to transform. Its body became more humanoid and legs and arms jutted out. Its wings folded down along the cockpit and the jet's head folded down to its chest where its head jutted out. The head was a smooth humanoid black fore head with a red line down the centre with an emerald visor. One hand which extended from an arm reached to its shoulder and drew out a slim straight sabre with an emerald blade.

In a flash of red and grey, the green sabre sliced diagonally through the body of the _Vincent_ and the machine exploded.

"_So that's how the Britannians fight?"_ Nelson asked with a snide. _"Didn't even scratch my_ Rhyl after_ all that flying. That's British ingenuity you bloody pommies!" _

Kallen smiled in amusement.

"_Don't celebrate now, lad_." Gordon warned. The _Alymere_ hovered around the mass of tanks on the ground. _"There're_ _more bastards appearing on the ground."_

The former Black Knight smothered her grin and with the two British knights charged down towards the raining barrage of hell.

The only question was where was Arthur...?

* * *

Jeremiah grimaced as he smacked a thrusting dagger away with his sword and sliced back. Knife long nails clawed and thick rune daggers sawed at him and he knew only the upgraded full armour was protecting even his cybernetic body.

"Damn, Shadow Striders!" Dunford shouted as he fired his carbine in full auto. The Arfon troopers followed suit forming a defensive ring around them.

Remembering the experiences of the Royal Guard against these foes, the Arfons fought them with rank and file knowing that in this darkness that they were at a huge disadvantage.

Not only that there were only but a handful of them against heaven knows how many.

Jeremiah was the only one amongst them who could fight them on par and the tide here was too much that even his titanic strength and speed could get overwhelmed. Daggers flew at the cyborg at will which Jeremiah expertly deflected with his twin blades.

He brought a blade around and slashed down in the red eyed darkness meeting flesh and blood. As the Strider cowered, a bullet finished the Geass user off in the forehead.

It seems that they weren't the only ones as on their radio, the Arfons could hear shouts of confusion and help from the other units including outside and reports of Loyalist troops turning on their own.

"_My Lord! Unidentified Knightmare!"_

"What is it?" Jeremiah demanded as he disembowelled another Strider. A powerful kick struck the side of his face, sending him staggering.

The blow had actually managed to dent his armour. Roaring in rage, Jeremiah responded by splitting the Strider's skullcap from his head.

"_Sir, it's like a centaur...agrah!"_

_

* * *

_

"Beginning counter-attack, brother." Castor Rui Britannia replied, his eyes flaring with the Geass symbol.

Without warning, a flash of black mass swamped an area where a unit of loyalist _Glassglows and_ _Sutherlands_ were engaging a fire fight. A _Glassglow _was sent flying into the air. The others turned to see what could have hurled an entire Knightmare into the sky. The first to turn received a clawed thrust into its _Yggdrasil_ Drive then was tossed on to its comrades. The hapless machine landed on a trio while the others moved out of the way to face their enemy.

The other Knightmares turned and final saw the figure only to be stunned. It was all Castor needed and the Hadron crimson orbs struck the rest ending the fight quickly.

Two _Sutherlands _came at it with lances lowered, this time the Knightmare reached for its back and pulled out what looked like a giant hammer. With a single swing, the centaur like machine had smashed the upper body of one _Sutherland_ flying in the air.

It turned and brought the weapon down on the last one crushing it's down having the _Sutherland_ face flat on the ground. Then brought the hammer down again, again and again until the machine looked nothing like its original form, ignoring the screams of mercy and agony of the pilot.

"I really don't like violence." Castor muttered, his blue eyes showed no emotion.

His Knightmare, the _Equus_ was one of the strangest Knightmares that was made. For one it did not have the trade mark slash harkens and the landspinners like that of the others. Neither did it have the _Float_ system.

Instead the machine, jet black with red and gold trims was only half humanoid. Its lower body had four legs which all ended with four crimson hooves. It had two matching crimson gauntlets and two horn like features around its _Sutherland_ styled head with a red face.

The _Equus_' face sphere opened and scanned the entire battlefield.

"All squads begin counter attack."

"Yes, your highness!"

Suddenly tunnels begun to opened up from the ground, swallowing any hapless soldier or machine in the battlefield.

The loyalist commander on the G-1 Base watched in shock as the entire battle ground had changed consuming many of his men with them.

Then it happened.

It was like a nightmare, a terrible terrible nightmare...only that it was far too real. Loyalist soldiers who had just been winning the uneven battle against the rebels found themselves under attack by the likes they had experience before save in their dreams.

Comrades turning on their own allies, shadows appearing everywhere and overwhelming masses of men. Strange looking creatures from legends emerging from the darkness, bodies and limbs being hacked away in the brink of the eye, Knightmares and firearms malfunctioning at will.

In the skies, midnight blue Knightmares with silver trimmings and horns and crimson orbs dominated everything around it, using drill like slash harkens and MVS swords.

There were also new Knightmares too. White plated machines with crimson trims with an avian symbol on their shoulder plates.

One machine appeared on the ground in the middle of a group of _Sutherlands_ and their _Gloucester_ commander.

"Charge it!" The machine facesphere suddenly opened up and revealed a glowing avian symbol.

With that the Knightmare had suddenly disappeared.

"What the..." The _Gloucester_ commander muttered raising its lance in question only to realise the lance disappeared from its hand and that its tip was buried on its own chest.

The other _Sutherlands_ turned to face it only to be destroyed in the brink of the eye. One _Sutherland_'s cockpit was ripped into two different pieces leaving the pilot to be in a more gruesome state.

More Knightmare and other loyalist units suffered the same fate, radios screaming in pain and agony while the battlefield was littered with almost only loyalist fatalities.

Defeat was certain when a voice called out.

"I surrender."

The red and silver _Vincent_ hovered above the skies.

"Cease your attack and I will turn myself in."

Wilde smiled. "I don't know why we should do that. It appears that we control the battleground now."

"Because..." The cockpit of the Vincent opened up revealing a slim figure in a white and red pilot suit and a black visored helmet.

"While you chase down these men, I can destroy you and everything here. This _Vincent_ is filled with explosives. And on the corpses of men in your base with fully functional bombs, activated only with this." He pulled out a switch.

"I can blow you all to hell."

* * *

In a single press of a button, the armour of two dozen tanks bubbled up and burst into flames. Kallen then wheeled about and squeezed another burst of radiant energy at a second group.

VARIS rounds fired from the _Rhyl _as it swept through the land again and again. The _Alymere_'s shoulders opened up with missiles and fired a barrage across the land.

As Gordon watched the ground units exploded, he found new figures appearing on his IFF display.

"Incoming Knightmares in sector 5." The Scotsman warned.

Kallen turned to regard her new adversaries. "_Vincents_. Four of them."

Nelson turned the _Rhyl _about. "I'll take care of them."

But Kallen injected an arm before the red and grey Knightmare. "No, I'll do it. You two guard the ship."

With that Kallen sent her _Guren SEITEN_ forward in full speed. The _Vincents_ were of pink colour scheme like those that she had engaged during the war against that crazy bastard Bradley.

The _Vincents_ scattered into a staggered formation and fired their machine guns down at her. Kallen activated her radiant shield to block their attacks but the pink machines on the corners turned about and were suddenly at her flank.

"What...?" She quickly banked left to avoid the flanking attack.

A _Vincent_ suddenly came down its MVS blades drawn in both hands and brought one blade down on her.

Kallen raised her wing to block the attack when a second one came at her other side with a needle blazer

"_You caught the Valkyrie_ Squadron _off guard last time, Red Lotus!"_ A female voice spat.

"_But not this time!"_ A second voice remarked.

Kallen flapped her wings like an angry eagle and flew out of their grasp.

"Damn, they're good!"

Just as she did another _Vincent_ came down on her back its MVS in double blade ready to stab down at her cockpit.

The Knight of Two quickly shot a radiant blast at the Knightmare which it dodged. A fourth _Vincent_ appeared but Kallen was ready and fired her slash harkens at it knocking it off the sky.

She turned and fired her radiant beam to finish it off but the glowing crimson blast only bounced off when it struck a bright gold figure.

"_We meet again, Kallen."_ A very familiar voice chirped. Then before her was a dark blue and red colour schemed _Percival_ with gold energy wings.

"_That is your name isn't it?"_ She chirped again.

Kallen glared at the newcomer. "So it's you, Bradley. I should have known."

The other woman smiled. _"Glad to see me?"_

"You bet. Changed her your dress?" Kallen launched a large burst of radiant wave which the _Percival_ easily avoided.

"_Haha, Orange doesn't seem to match my colour."_ The new Knightmare returned fire with its shield missiles.

Kallen blocked them with a radiant shield and fired another radiant wave.

As the _Percival_ avoided the blast, Luna Bradley turned to her body guards.

"Valkyrie One and Two, go after that ship. It may contain the package."

"_Yes, Lady Lunamaria."_

"Three and Four, corner this bitch!"

"_Yes, milady."_ With that Lunamaria charged forward with activating her MSV particle lance.

Kallen raised her MVS fork to break the lance thrust which to her surprise only managed to block it. Her weapon should have been able to cut through the MSV shield.

Lunamaria must have sensed her confusion as the red hair woman heard her laughed.

"_Please, Kally. This isn't like the old_ Percival. _I had never told you its name. This is the_ Morgana."

"Named after that witch...suits you." Kallen swung her radiant arm at the Knightmare which it avoided and thrust again where the Black knight ace parried so she could grab the _Morgana_ and blast it to dust but it was too fast.

"Damn it!" Kallen cursed as she tried to catch the dark blue Knightmare but being installed with the same energy wing system, Bradley could move in the blinding speed as she could.

The two _Vincents_ pestered her all the way, firing grenade launchers at will then retreating out of range. If she tried to pursue them, Bradley would intervene and attack her. Being caught on two fronts, Kallen could barely defend herself let alone mount a proper attack.

"_So_," Bradley started as she fired a Hadron blast which Kallen blocked with her shield and they clashed blades again.

"_Where is your white knight? Or should I say Red Knight?"_

"I don't need him here!" Kallen growled back, swinging a kick in. "I don't need that arrogant bastard here!"

Lunamaria grinned maliciously. _"Oh...a lover's quarrel?"_ She brought her shield up to block the kick and returned with a lance thrust.

"_It's a real shame. We were ordered to be taking the red knight. Looks like he dumped you."_

Her words angered Kallen even more as the Black Knight and Knight of Two swung a broad swipe of her MVS knife.

In anger, Kallen fired out a particularly large radiant blast which almost overwhelmed the customised _Percival_ and her _Vincent_ escorts. One Valkyrie's leg was caught in the blast and bubbled into ashes.

But that did not end her taunts. _"Ohh...Did I touched a sensitive spot?"_

"Damn you bitch!" The half-Britannian pilot snarled and unleashed another blast of radiant energy.

"_Hahaha!"_ The Vampire's sister laughed. _"Oh, I can see you're still in love with him! Don't worry, now since he's not here I'll happily tear you apart in his stead!"_

Kallen roared with her namesake and charged in full speed turning into a violet light. The Valkyrie_s_ charged in to intercept her firing their grenades as they came but her speed was too fast and she had swept pass them in seconds and although Kallen had merely speeded pass her enemies; the speed of her _Guren SEITEN_ left the two stumbling in the air uncontrollably.

With the SEITEN's arm glowing deep crimson, the Knight of Two fired a string of radiant disks. The _Morgana_ brought her shield up to block the first few disks and used her lance to parry the last few. Using the distraction, Kallen span around in a fashion to Suzaku's trade mark roundhouse kick and landed a double kick into Lunamaria's Knightmare. The first kick struck the shield but the second hit the head of the _Morgana_ head on sending it staggering away.

She pressed on to her advantage and sent a radiant blast at point blank range which only the rebel knight's exceptional piloting skills had kept her alive by moving aside at the last minute. Kallen continued with two short brutal strokes of her MVS knife hammering down on the shield.

The _Mograna_ then countered by thrusting its lance but Kallen was prepared and sent a stopping kick, the _Guren SEITEN_'s foot striking the lance arm down back and likely damaging the arm joint slightly.

Growling in pain, Bradley fired her three slash harkens at point blank range but Kallen only smirked and caught all three with her MVS and snapping them.

"_Impossible!"_ Lunamaria cried out.

Kallen felt a grim smile forming and lunged forward with her radiant arm at the opening she created.

She was about to pressed the trigger when something struck her on the side.

"Agrah!" Kallen cried as she was knocked to the corner of her cockpit and her head struck the ceiling. The attack had sent her flying away from her opponent into open space.

Pulling herself back, Kallen saw that the attack had dented her _Guren SEITEN_'s side and its armour was badly scrapped on the right. Angered Kallen turned to regard her attack and watched in shock.

"A _Siegfried_? Here?"

Kallen had remembered the attack on New Pendragon that there were three _Siegfried_s. She had assumed that the assassins had them prepared to fight the Imperial Guard forces but what was one of those Knight Giga Fortresses doing in this battlefield? Was Geass involved here too? Was that why Lelouch/Arthur came here for?

"_Sorry, Kally."_ The noblewoman called. "_Unfortunately for you, my friend the_ Fomoire_ here wants to play with you and he's been all bored with killing just a few peasants. So I suggested a Black Knight who happens to be a Knight of the Round as well._"

The _Morgana_'s eyes glimmered. _"Well, I'm going to go play with your two friends there. Cheerio, Kally! I'll make sure I tear your friends to pieces."_

With that the dark blue Knightmare disappeared in a flash of yellow light. Before Kallen could blink she was facing a large shadow.

Kallen closed her wings around her as shields to brace the attack and while they were a strong shield the impact struck her like as if she had been struck by a thunderbolt.

"Agrah!" Kallen screamed as she was sent flying off like a baseball. With her expert piloting skills, Kallen barely managed to hold herself back opening her wings wide so they could balance her back.

It was in a nick of time too as the machine had continued its charge and Kallen just narrowly dodged a spinning spike that would have tore through her armour despite its hardness.

As the massive Knightmare swept pass her, the red haired pilot activated her radiant beam and fired it at the huge violet object. The crimson beam bounced off the machine like a water hose off a car windshield.

The thing had stopped spinning and fired out a Hadron beam that almost caught Kallen unshielded.

"Oh my god, what the hell is that?" Kallen muttered.

She was wrong. It was not a _Siegfried_. It was a large machine about a third larger than the _Gawain_ in size with similar features. It was based on the machine that was for sure. It was huge and looked something like a giant demon with over sized bear-like hand with sharp white claws that could be fired out like slash harkens like her surger arm. Again who were these people? They have the weapons of almost every military faction in the world!

Just as she was wondering what to do, she saw Lunamaria Bradley's Knightmare flying towards the _Rhyl _and _Alymere_ who were both engaged to the other Valkyrie_s_ who were sent to harass them and the what remained of the ground forces.

They were being played. Kallen realised. The whole battle...the whole attack had been a trap since the beginning.

To make things worse, behind the _Fomoire_ was a large mass of dark clouds...no...Air-ships...rebel air-ships.

* * *

Wilde watched the red and silver _Vincent_ closely as the pilot came out of his cockpit. He was only a young man in his early twenties from his body figure. The white-coated nobleman tried to figure out if it was the man was bluffing. His helmet preventing Wilde from reading the man's facial expression and his body features betrayed nothing.

He also knew that there was fighting in the cells and while the Shadow Striders were likely slaughtering anyone in the way that means there's hardly anyone alive down there.

But if what the knight said was true, those bodies would be filled with explosives. He thought the man was bluffing. If there were explosives, they would have been blown up in the fire fight. Still there was something really wrong.

The nobleman watched the areas of the attacks and saw that the knight had purposely attacked and led his troops through the exterior of the underground and its centre. If those bodies were indeed rigged with explosives, the entire compound would be buried in the earth along with everyone in the base.

As for the battlefield, Wilde noted that there was barely any loyalist left other than a handful of Knightmares and vehicles.

Well, the trade off wasn't so bad then.

Wilde smiled. "Name your terms then, knight."

"All forces withdraw from the field." The Red Knight ordered his forces. "Your forces must not give chase, including your bloody hounds."

"In turn what do we get?"

"I offer myself."

"Very well. But first you must show me your face."

The knight hesitated and a brief moment, he quickly reached for his helmet and took it off.

Silence fell to the entire area. No one could make a noise as the face of Lelouch Vi Britannia, the dreaded Demon Emperor came in view. It was the same face, save for the white hair and the blue eyes. An uncomfortable tension filled all those who saw him.

"I am Arthur Peregrine. A Knight of Lelouch Vi Britannia."

It was a generous offer and Wilde accepted it.

The orders were given and it took fifteen minutes for all surviving loyalists to surrender. Some complained and cursed at the luck that took them but the rest stayed quiet not wanting the nightmares to come back.

Seeing the troops going out of enemy range, Arthur released his Knightmare's weapons and lowered the machine down to the flanks of two _Vipers_ and a _Vincent_ Commander.

Wilde could not believe his luck that the thorn on the Purist side had just been laid on his very hands. The knight then surrendered his possessions and offered himself to the hands of the rebel troops.

"Bring him here." Wilde commanded. "I want him to be at my side as he watched his men get torn into pieces."

The nobleman did not notice the small smirk that formed on Arthur's lips as he left.

"Lord Wilde, enemy forces approaching Sector 82. We have reports of an airship and three Knightmares."

"So they're here?"

"Yes, milord." The aide replied. "Lord Meadus has sent his men to capture the red knight."

"Ha! Won't he be surprised to see him in our hands!"

A second officer joined them. "Sir, Lord Meadus has sent out the prototype _Fomoire_ and two squadrons of _Vipers_ to Sector 82."

Wilde grinned in amusement. "Let them. They want blood. Let them have it. After they're done with them then inform the bastards."

* * *

"What the hell is he doing?" Dunford cursed to Jeremiah as the bronze skinned knight threw away his empty rifle and pulled out a pistol.

"Master Lelouch knows what he's doing." Was all what Orange replied as the cyborg clashed blades with two Shadow Striders.

Dunford did not answer knowing that he would not get proper response from the man. Instead, the former Britannian army soldier emptied a few rounds into the darkness where some of those shadowy bastards were attacking.

They had retreated into a barricaded platform in the Engineering Bay where two other squads had been holding the line against Shadow Striders, rebel shock troops as well as their own men. Several of their own soldiers had turned against their comrades and from what Dunford had seen had been due to Geass.

The hallway was blocked by men with ballistic shields forming a solid shield wall manned by sharp shooters.

Shadow Striders appeared here and there, leaving dead behind, mainly loyalist dead.

Dunford, Jeremiah and the two remaining Arfon troopers fought their way through the hectic gun fire.

"Over here, sir!" An officer waved his pistol.

The shield wall opened up where two more shield wielding men with carbines appeared and covered them.

A loyalist soldier lunged at Dunford knocking him off balance.

Dunford stumbled as he fell and raised his hands to block a knife thrust by the said soldier. His eyes were ringed crimson.

Seeing that the man had been Geassed, Dunford jabbed at the man's unprotected throat and turned the knife back to the soldier as he was stunned.

"Dunford, look out!" Jeremiah shouted as a Shadow Strider appeared from the darkness Geass symboled eyes glee with blood lust.

There was a flash of silver then a gust of blood and for a second it was thought the former army captain had fallen but as the bloody mist faded away, it was Dunford who stood up. In his hands was a short curved sabre.

The bronze skinned man glared at the attackers taking off his helmet and then suddenly gripped his face and pulled it off. The Shadow Strider leapt back, blood flowing from his arm.

Long dark hair flowed and his face which seemed to be a mixture of Asian and Oceanian became more that of a Middle Easterner. More specifically that of Arabic features.

Jeremiah watched the man in surprise. 'Dunford' snarled and brought his short curved sword into play against his opponent.

The Shadow Strider quickly met the blade and in a blur of motion brought down in a barrage of thrusts and stabs but the bronze skinned knight parried and blocked with the speed and skill that Jeremiah had never seen before.

The Geass user then leapt forward to tackle his enemy but instead met the sword guard of Dunford's sabre and stumbled back. The sabre arced about and removed the creature's head and it pitched forward, the weapons falling from its now-lifeless fingers.

Dunford then grasped Jeremiah's extending hand and retreated to the safety of their men.

"Are you alright?" Jeremiah asked.

"They just damaged my pride." Dunford replied with a nod.

Jeremiah studied the man closely. He was clearly of Middle Eastern blood.

"Who are you really?" The Britannian knight asked, although he expected him to tell him off. To his surprised, Dunford nodded.

"My real name is Percales, descendent of Sir Palamede, Knight of the Round Table. Long have I worn the guise of Henry Dunford to protect my identity, I have been part of the Arfon Knight since I was born."

Jeremiah looked at his companion in a new light. A descendent of a real Arthurian knight! What an honour!

"It...is an honour." The cyborg managed.

_Percales_ Harry Dunford waved his hand. "It's nothing. I grew up in Britannia like you did and I have served in the Britannian army as well. There's little difference. And I am still Harry Dunford."

Suddenly the fighting and explosions stopped. "What's happening now?"

Jeremiah smiled. "It's begun."

* * *

Ripple after ripple appeared on her radiant shield as cannon shot, missiles, Hadron beams and bullets struck her and that was even with Kallen's _Guren SEITEN_'s incredible speed.

Barrage after barrage bombarded Kallen over and over again. It was as if the entire battle group had focused their fire power on _Guren SEITEN_ alone. It was not a huge problem for the red haired warrior but each time she had tried to attack the ships, the _Fomoire_ would appear out of nowhere and strike her. And when Kallen turned to focus on the massive machine, the rebel ships would launch another bombardment.

_They're trying to drain my power cells._ Kallen realised as she destroyed a volley of missiles with a radiant burst. Even as she tried to block a lance-slash harken from the _Fomoire_, the Black Knight ace could see Knightmares being prepared in the three _Logres_ ships that led the battle group. Its escort, _Caerleons_ were already launching their own small groups of Knightmares out.

In a matter of minutes, at least two hundred Knightmares were flying around the air-fleet. Kallen knew that she was not going to win this battle, not even with her _Guren SEITEN_.

On her scanners, squadrons of rebel Knightmares had advanced to the _King's Daughter_ and the two Arfon knights who were busy fighting the pink _Vincents_.

The _Alymere_ shoved a Valkyrie away then advanced to meet a group of _Gloucesters_. From his back, the Scottish knight drew out what looked like a massively long sword with a V shaped hand-guard.

The sword glittered white in the sun then glowed gold.

"_Taste the steel of a Scottish claymore!"_ Gordon remarked and gave out a cry in his native language, the calm face of the older pilot had turned vicious wild and met his Britannian adversaries head on.

With a single swing, Gordon had sliced two _Gloucesters_ and two lances of their comrades with his huge sword. The knight swung back and cut through another trio. The silver and blue Knightmare turned and fired its hip slash harkens at another two.

The other _Gloucesters_ exploded as green beams struck them both. Nelson in the _Rhyl _fired from a distance to support his comrade with the VARIS rifle in one hand and his green bladed sabre in the other.

The English knight fired another few more rounds at another group before turning back into his fortress mode and swept about firing as he went along.

"_Bloody hell, they're all over the place!"_

Nelson fired another round that turned a flying Knightmare into a ball of fire. A full squadron suddenly appeared and dove to meet him. Two _Wards_ drew blades and tried to flank him.

"_Oh come on, lads. All of you against me? Doesn't sound fair."_ He sighed as he idly avoided a barrage of missiles from the shoulders of a _Gloucester_. _"Looks like I'll have to make it even!"_

The grey and red Knightmare then burst into full speed and charged in amongst them, spinning like a drill firing as he went shattering the squadron's formation. Two _Gloucesters_ tried to intercept him with their lances but Nelson was too quick and they pierced only air. He saw a red and brown _Vincent_ directing their efforts.

Shells exploded in front of him as a pair of _Sutherlands_ fired their cannons at him but other than dirtying his paintjob the attacks did not harm the _Rhyl_.

Nelson fired his two slash harkens which struck their commander, the _Vincent_. The Knightmare's armour was tougher than its subordinates and while they did not manage a strong dent, the attack knocked the _Vincent_ off balance in the air as they hooked around the Commander Model's shoulders. Using its speed and momentum, the _Rhyl _ turned around and turned the machine back to Knightmare mode, drawing his green-bladed sabre.

Nelson had brought his machine down like a diving falcon and he slashed his way down through the surprised Knightmares. He severed a _Gloucester_ from the torso, buried his blade into the head of a _Sutherland_ and cut down another in half from the shoulder.

In a matter of seconds, half of the squadron had been slaughtered and the emerald visor of the _Rhyl _glinted as if winking.

The surviving units tried to form up and flank the lithe red and grey machine but they disappeared in a torrent of crimson wave from Kallen's radiant blast and Gordon's missiles.

Even with this done, there was still a lot of enemies to fight.

* * *

"So this is the famous Red knight?" Wilde asked as the prisoner in a red and white Knightmare pilot suit entered. His face was as they say, an exact replica of Emperor Lelouch save for the hair and eye colour. He might have been his twin brother. The young soldier's hands were tied and were under constant watch from the nobleman's Household Guards. The white and gold coated soldiers alongside their armoured companions watched warily and guns trained down on the knight.

The boy did not seem to mind the threat but met his eye evenly and calmly.

"Lord Theodore Wilde, formerly the Margrave of Nova Scotia, the chief 'Inquisitor' and spymaster of the Emperor's Royal Guard, you are well known to me. I had a feeling that you'd appear again."

Wilde chuckled in amusement. "I have to admit your master had almost gotten my head at New London." The nobleman let his handsome features basked in the light of his video screens. "But I AM the spymaster of Charles Zi Britannia."

At that the Red knight just smirked. "I can see that."

"Watch your mouth!" The Guard captain snarled and smacked the prisoner on the head with his gauntlet hand.

"Enough." Wilde said. "Come now. We must respect a proper soldier. As I said, Sir Arthur, you are a worthy opponent. You have somehow managed to fight your way against a veteran black operation commander and managed to score a deadly blow to my forces." The nobleman smiled. "And for that you have my respect."

Arthur scoffed in reply. "Typical Britannian nobles."

"Silence!" The captain struck the white haired version of the late Emperor.

Wilde frowned and let out a soft sigh. "Good with weapons but lack proper manners."

The knight gritting his teeth in pain gave a sardonic grin. "I'm sorry. I just can't stand bluebloods."

The Household officer snarled again but was held back by the voice of Arthur's new tone.

"Well, my lord, I have a question. Have you heard of the Valiant of old Britain?"

The white-coated noble raised an eyebrow. "You want to discuss about that old legend?"

"It is more than a legend." Arthur reassured him. "In the Dark Ages when King Uther fell, the British Isles were in chaos. Kingdoms waged war upon another. Brother fought brother. Nobles like you, fought each other to be king. And in the mist of this turmoil, the mighty Roman Empire had come as well."

Wilde's eyes narrowed. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

But the knight continued. "In the fighting between Britons and Romans, who was there to protect the people, the innocents? There was such a warrior, a mysterious warrior who brought peace back to the land and fought the Imperial invaders off the Island and established the greatest kingdom mankind had ever made! His name was Knight Valiant, who would one day be King Arthur himself!"

The nobleman laughed and laughed hard while his men chuckled between their helmet visors.

"So," Wilde said, pausing to sip his wine. "You're saying that because you share the same name as King Arthur you think you can get out of here? That your _Knights_ would come and save you?"

The younger man grinned wider. "No, my lord. I do my own killing. For in the past, by the Knight's old code...path of the warrior..."

As the knight's lips moved, Wilde noticed that the voice was getting louder and louder and too different to have come from that of the man's mouth.

"**For he is sworn to valour and that his heart has only virtue..."**

The chanting was getting louder and everyone in the room was visibly getting shaking.

"**His blade defends the hapless and his might uphold the weak...his honour guides the sword..."**

Wilde decided that the knight was getting too dangerous raised his hand to order the shooting when the video screen appeared behind him.

The white haired Lelouch spoke with his eyes glowing blue with a bird like symbol, grinning maliciously at the nobleman and his men.

"What the hell? You're not here? Then who..." Wilde turned to see the 'Arthur' standing up with the bodies of his guards around him wielding two black bladed knifes.

The real Arthur's smile only grew. **"His wrath undoes the wicked! And if be true that the king..."**

"Kill him!" And the Guards around him fired their guns but a figure dropped from above blocking the imposter. The bullets bounced harmlessly off it.

"Sorry, I was late." Jeremiah remarked, drawing his swords.

"Not to worry," Sayoko replied taking off the mask and brandishing her kunai and throwing one into the skull of a guard and hurling a trio of shuriken with deadly accuracy.

Another man dressed in the Britannian army body armour with red shoulder guards charged in with a curved sword, beheading another guard.

As he spoke the words, they sounded...they sounded like...like...Lelouch?

"**...holds true to these ideals...His will and might give the knights the strength to vanquish the evil."**

"Damn!" Wilde drew his pistol to return fire but his firearm was knocked out by a kunai and the armoured soldier leapt upon him.

"You are finished..." The soldier said, pointing his sword at the nobleman's chest.

"**My name is Arthur Peregrine and from the spirits of the ancient order..."**

Wilde suddenly had a realisation of the name. "Arthur Peregrine...Arthur...Pen...!"

"**And thus I summon thee! KNIGHT VALIANT!"**

In the video screen, a bright scarlet and gold Knightmare appeared in the horizon.

Then a massive explosion rocked the room and suddenly everything went black.

* * *

They had outsmarted them. Bradley and her cronies had been playing with Kallen into drawing her out from the two knights.

They intent to capture her. Of course, Kallen was after all a Knight of the Round as well as a Black Knight commander and one of the most dangerous pilots in the world. To capture her would be a large blow to the Empire and the UFN and would be leverage for the rebels.

If she were to die, then it would take away another obstacle from the Empress. Kallen wanted to die to see her brother and Lelouch but not without seeing to the world they both died for.

"Come on! I'll take you all!" Kallen screamed as she sent a blast of radiant beam to the charging Knightmares. The crimson beam lanced towards the coming machines, a _Sutherland_ squadron and the beam scattered as the spinning orange figure appeared.

"Damn!" Kallen cursed as she watched the beam just bounced off the electromagnetic shield. Behind the _Fomoire,_ two _Gareths_ appeared and fired their Hadron cannons.

The two blood red beams tore through the sky. Kallen brought her wings together as makeshift shields and the beams bounced off striking the violet energy wings. The half-Britannian knight then lunged forward, radiant arm glowing and MVS knife at the ready.

Four _Sutherlands _and _Gloucesters_ charged forward with lances. Kallen parried a thrust and stabbed one in the chest and used her wing to rip a _Gloucester_'s entire front open. The Knight of Two just fired a radiant burst to boil the two remaining Knightmares to dust.

Even as the two machines burst into two great fireballs, a _Sutherland_ suddenly appeared from the smoke and thrust a heavy lance at her. The lance barely scratched the _Guren SEITEN_'s thick armour but the impact shoved her back. From above a _Vincent Ward_ dove down and slammed a stun tonfa down on the crimson violet Knightmare's back.

"Arg!" Kallen shouted in pain as she pulled herself together. She had been fighting for so long already and while her Knightmare was still functioning, Kallen's physical body was now aching from exhaustion.

A dark blue Knightmare suddenly appeared with a red-visor. One of those _Vipers_ Kallen recognised and it lunged down firing two of its slash harkens. To Kallen's surprise, they resemble the _Shenhu_'s slash harkens before they had struck her chest cockpit. Even more surprising was that fact that they had _dented_ her armour.

With a snarl, Kallen swung her MVS knife which was met by the _Viper_'s own sword. She quickly caught the blade between the fork of the knife and twisted the weapon free and she finally finished it off with a radiant blast.

The red-haired knight sighed in exhaustion. Sweat covered her entire body.

_This can't end here._ Kallen thought. _Brother...Mother...I promise I would create this perfect world..._

The _Morgana_ wheeled about. "_Capture her!"_

"Yes, milord!" The rebel Knightmares shouted in unison and lunged forward. They swarmed over the clouds and the explosions of the battle and including a green crystal hovering in the middle of them.

Kallen blinked. "Crystal?" She zoomed in and saw a crystal hovering. Then suddenly a pink and white beam struck it.

The crystal glowed bright and soon dozens of beams suddenly fired out, cutting through the sky as well as machine and suddenly the sky was littered with explosions.

"What the..." Kallen's eyes widen in awe and amazement at how so many of her enemies were gone in a split second. She could not believe it. It was a miracle...

Only one name came to Kallen's mind...

_Lelouch..._

With that from the skies a glittering and gleaming humanoid figure came down like an angel from heaven.

Its armour was red unlike Kallen's _Guren SEITEN_ was a brilliant scarlet blood red and had gold trims all over it. At a glance, one would have thought it was related to the _Lancelot_. It was certainly built like the _Lancelot_ but its armour was much more ornate and the armour continued to its arms to until the golden fists. The arms were armed with twin heavy spikes ended gold bracers. Two metallic golden wings jutted out from its back and they had a green glow which meant that it was the Knightmare's flight system.

A scabbard hung on the machine's left hip while a kite shield, red and gold trimmed hung on its left arm.

Its head was like of the _Lancelot_ and the _Shinkiro _combined together with the former being more prominent with two gold horns and sky blue-eyes while it was shaped more like the latter.

"_Lord Arthur!" _Gordon called out raising his claymore in salute.

"_It's about time!"_ Nelson joined in.

Lunamaria wheeled her Knightmare around.

"_What the hell is that? Doesn't matter. Destroy it!"_

With that the _Vincent_ Commander drew his sword and pointed. At once a dozen Knightmares charged at the new machine.

The red and gold machine glared at his enemies.

"ARTORIOUS!" The Red Knight shouted as he drove his knightmare down into battle.

_"Kill him! All fire focus on the new machine!"_ The _Vincent_ commander ordered and all remaining Knightmares and ships shifted their weapons to Arthur.

The barrage of missiles and shells came at him from all sides as Arthur dove down in. He banked left and right avoiding the attacks.

"Damn! He's fast!" The _Vincent_ commander cursed as his own missile launcher missed its target. "B squad on me!"

Two _Wards_ and three _Gloucesters_ joined his side in a wedge formation and started firing a more concentrated barrage on the single unit. The crimson-gold machine avoided them just as they did the others.

Then he dove down in with a blur and charged into their formation.

"Now!" The _Vincent_ Commander shouted and a _Gareth_ suddenly appeared in front of the squadron and fired its Hadron cannon. The black and crimson beam lanced straight towards the Red Knight.

The knight suddenly brought its shield up and blocked the beam which dispersed the moment it touched it. The shield glowed green as the blast faded away.

"What the...!" The _Vincent_ commander had brought his needle blazer when the red and gold Knightmare was upon them. It pulled out a glittering golden long sword and swept passed them slashing as it went. In a few seconds, the _Gareth_, the two _Wards_ and a _Gloucester_ had exploded.

The _Vincent_ and the two _Gloucesters_ fired their weapons at the gold and red Knightmare as it came about. The Knightmare stretched out its sword arm where the golden spikes lowered and fired out like a slash harken. But instead of aiming at them, the Red knight fired it into mid-air then swung it back like a frail which struck them in a line and had them smashing into each other.

As the harken returned to the arm, Arthur brought his golden sword around and slash down on a stunned _Gloucester_ slicing it neatly in half from the head to torso. He turned his machine around and smashed his shield into the second _Gloucester_ then thrust the blade into its chest.

"_Damn you!_" The _Vincent_ charged out swinging his MVS double sword, thrusting one of the blades at the red Knightmare which it dodged.

Arthur moved a bit back and slashed down with his long sword which bit into the shaft of the double swords, separating them. The rebel officer turned them to duel blades and played in but the red knight smashed one MVS aside with his shield and sliced the other hand off.

Although disarmed, the _Vincent_ refused to give up and brought about its needle blazer and discharged the focused energy blast.

"_You won't survive that!"_ The rebel remarked. But as the energy had faded away, the attack had landed on the knight's shield which remained unscratched.

As the officer bit his astonishment, Arthur thrust the sword into the _Vincent_'s chest and brought it back out.

Kallen took the interruption to lay waste to the enemies around her. Switching her surger arm to burst mode, she literally surrounded herself with the radiant energy boiling and blasting anything within the radius.

With that she burst out of their lines spinning her machine with the energy wings extended so they would act like a large drill. The second wave of rebel knightmares who were supposed to support the first wave should it fail took the blunt of the attack.

A _Vincent_ _Ward_ was literally torn to nothing but scrap metals when it foolishly tried to bury its MVS blade into the _Guren SEITEN_'s head. Its companion _Gloucester_ ended up in the same fate along with a lot more.

The Knight of Two pulled her machine back up on its feet and fired out her surger arm at the next wave this one made up of white and blue _Vincent_ and _Vincent Wards._ They scattered in the arm's wake and as the squadron tried to close in on the crimson machine the arm came back skewering the _Vincent Wards_ in the rear.

As the last one's chest scattered, Kallen activated her radiant wave and unleashed the blast on the ranks of blue of white machines. One of the leading _Vincents_ flew high then dove down bringing his crimson swords down on Kallen.

She easily deflected the strike with her knife then lashed through the machine's torso while a second _Vincent_ lunged with a needle blazer. Kallen grabbed the offending Knightmare's arm before it could discharge the energy and after kneeing the _Vincent_, she grabbed it by its leg and arm and tossed it flying into the surviving companions.

Kallen then let out a blast of radiant energy as the _Vincent_ flew and finished off the rest of the squadron.

A stray _Gloucester_ threw a lance at the Black knight captain but the golden polearm was knocked off its course by a large pincer like slash harken which then whipped back and knocked the _Gloucester_'s head off with a returning swing.

Kallen saw her rescuer's red and gold machine bringing back its slash harkens which returned to its red and gold kite shield.

"_Pull back!" _Arthur ordered. _"K-1 and K-2, pull back to the _King's Daughter._ They're preparing a second mass barrage."_

"_The bastards are blocking the way!"_ Nelson shouted. _"How the hell are we supposed to get past that blockade!"_

"_You don't need to. I'll create a diversion and on my signal head straight towards the base."_

"_But my lord," _Gordon protested. _"The _Valiant_ is not suited to deal with three capital class ships on its own."_

_"He's right, mate. You'll need us. Our Knightmares are Commander Models for the Commonwealth Army."_

But Arthur shook his head. _"No. You two are needed with the Task Force. Rally the remnants and take control of the area. For Artorious!"_

_"For Artorious!"_

As the red Knightmare moved to engage the enemy, the _Guren SEITEN_ barred its way.

"Go back with them." Arthur said.

"I'm staying with you." Kallen said defiantly.

"No, you're not. Last thing I need is a Black Knight hussy to get in my way."

As the _Valiant_ tried to move around, the _Guren SEITEN_ had struck the other Knightmare. The blow had actually struck home.

"Who're you calling a hussy?" Kallen snarled anger evident in her voice.

"Damn woman! Get out of my way!" In response Arthur swung his shield at the Black Knight who avoided it and drew her MVS knife.

Gritting his teeth, Arthur lowered his sword but before the two red Knightmares could come to actual blows the _Alymere_ came in between them.

_"Enough!"_ Gordon shouted, in his thick Scottish accent. _"Ye two can fight all ye want later! Right now we gotta battle to win here!"_ The older knight's voice broke no dispute disregarding their ranks.

The _Rhyl_ hovered near them.

"_I say, you two should really get yourself in a room together and..."_ Nelson remarked.

"HEY!" Kallen shouted her face red with anger and embarrassment.

"_Nelson!"_ Arthur snarled.

The young English knight grinned at the two. _"See? Haha, even the same response. Cheerio then!"_

Gordon gave them a final glance. _"For the sake of your love ones, put aside your differences and fight together."_

As the two Britons left, leaving the Britannians alone, the pair stared at each other for a moment though it felt like an eternity.

_Lelouch...is it really you? Or are you really a knight like me?_ Kallen wondered as her feelings become more and more confusing. _Or are you some idiot trying to be Lelouch?_ Finally she couldn't stand it anymore.

"I don't care if you believe me or not. But I fight to maintain the world Lelouch wants. I've always fought to honour his memory."

Not bothering to wait for a reply, Kallen led her Knightmare into the enemy formation.

After a moment, the _Valiant _followed up.

"Hit them head on." Was all he said.

At the head of the rebel formation, Lunamaria and her Valkyries formed up along with about a hundred and fifty Knightmares in front of the rebel fleet in a wedge formation.

Lunamaria grinned. "I see the two have made up. Right, Valkyries One and Two, lead the left flank. Three and Four, right flank. Surround them. The rest of you lot forward!"

She readied her lance and pointed at the two red machines and at once the fleet launched their barrage.

Cannon shells blanket the entire space in front of the rebel lines. Missiles flew and detonated at the two red machines: one bright scarlet, one violet-crimson. But as the smoke faded away, the two Knightmares were still intact, the _Valiant_'s shield glowing bright green while the _Guren SEITEN_ glowed crimson as missiles and shells detonate around them.

"Open fire!" Bradley ordered as she fired her Hadron blasters as three dozen Knightmares fired machine guns, missiles and Hadron blasts at the duo.

Kallen dodged the incoming attacks and adjusted her radiant arm to disk mode. One of the upgrades other than expanding her radiant energy capacity was to allow her to fire her radiant disks in rapid mode like a machine gun.

So she decided to use it now and launched a volley of the disks into the enemy as a reply while Arthur brought his sword arm and fired Hadron blasts from the blaster on his gauntlet like that of the _Shinkiro._

For a brief second, the crimson scheme of the Knightmare turned jet black.

"No." Kallen shook her head and continued her assault as the radiant disks tore through the rebel ranks.

A grey and green _Vincent_ lost its arm and both legs before losing its head as well. A _Vincent Ward_ and its _Sutherland_ companion join its commander's side but before they could do anything, the _Ward_ lost its head to a disk then a second one cut through its torso. The _Sutherland_ did not fare any better taking two disks in its chest.

At the same time Arthur sent out a burst of multiple Hadron blasts that struck their targets with deadly accuracy. The _Valiant_ then charged at a _Gareth_ who had opened its Hadron cannon and fired. The Red knight suddenly adjusted his shield and the weapon glittered green as the black and red beam lance on the Knightmare.

The beam surprisingly bounced off the shield at a certain angle and Arthur took advantage of it and used the deflected beam to cut down an entire line of enemy Knightmare. Then the Arfon knight readied its Hadron blaster and fired a few crimson orbs at the bulky machine blasting its head off.

Then spreading out its arms, the _Valiant _opened its chest plate and fired out the _Shinkiro_'s trademark beam cannon. The beam blasted through another rank of rebels and he dragged it down the line and cut through their lines like a sword.

Kallen watched at him surprise and admiration and confusion. He fought somewhat similarly to Suzaku in terms of close combat but there was a strategy in them and he often manipulates the enemy's attacks against themselves rather than using his own.

The Black knight commander did not have time to think further as the rebels were starting to scatter. She quickly switched her disk mode into burst mode and unleashed a wave of radiant energy into the rebel lines before they could form up.

Then Kallen lunged forward firing as she go. Two _Wards_ attacked her but Kallen cut through one with her MVS knife and boiled the other with her radiant arm.

A pair of _Vincents_ in light green and gold lunged forward, one of them fired a grenade at Arthur who just moved aside from the shell as it exploded behind the red and gold machine.

The second one threw a chaos mine at Kallen which detonated on her energy wings. In response, Kallen fired out her surger arm and skewer the pilot inside.

Angered by its companion's death, the remaining _Vincent_ lunged at the _Knight Valiant_ with a needle blazer but in a quick move Arthur used his slash harken's edge and arched the angle of the blazer where the energy discharged into thin air. Then he brought his sword arm but instead of using the weapon, he fired a Hadron blast into the chest of the _Vincent_ at close range leaving a burning hole in the machine.

As he discarded the exploding machine, Kallen thought she saw the _Valiant_ nodding at her in approval.

If he was going to say something, she didn't hear it as they came under fire from the ships again. While the two took evasive actions to avoid getting hit, a pink form suddenly loomed over her and Kallen raised her right wing right in time to block the crimson sword from striking her.

The machine quickly avoided her return swing and before Kallen could continue on a second barrage struck her this time from the _Vincent_'s companions.

"Damn, they just keep coming!" Kallen snarled as she fired a burst of radiant wave which caught some machines in the blast though not all.

Just then suddenly, the _Valiant_ burst out high and far ahead from the battlefield. Everyone was so focused on fighting the pair and particularly the _Guren SEITEN_ that the red and gold machine slipped pass them if only for a few seconds.

"What?" Kallen thought. Was he leaving her for dead? The red haired knight could feel her heart hurt and anger. So Lelouch was abandoning her again?

The machine moved further then faced the main fleet and suddenly opened its chest plate and launched its crystal.

The entire sky was suddenly filled with violet and white beams from the crystal. Surprisingly or rather not surprisingly the beams struck fleet and they all hit the engines and gun turrets on the ships of the left flank.

"NOW!" Arthur shouted as he angled to the side and fired another burst of beam. Kallen then realised that he was risking fire to protect the _King's Daughter._ At once, the green ship appeared with its two escorts and started to get pass the distracted blockade. Some ships tried to turn and fire but the beams from the _Valiant_ distracted them and the Knightmares engaging the _Guren SEITEN_ were too far to reach in time not even the right flanking force.

That's when the thought forgotten _Fomoire_ appeared and charged at the _Valiant_.

Kallen then suddenly realised that this was the moment she was waiting for and the Black knight shifted all her remaining energy into her wings and sped pass her adversaries with her blinding speed.

The huge Knightmare had begun moving itself towards Arthur who was still firing the beam now from the rear of the fleet covering the _King's Daughter_. The _Rhys_ came about giving Arthur a hand firing its VARIS in fortress mode although it did little damage to the _Logres_.

Then at range, the _Fomoire_ fired its claw-slash harken. Arthur turned to block with his shield but it was too late and it came and struck the red and gold Knightmare on the shoulder taking a thick portion of its shoulder plate.

A _Ward_ tried to block Kallen's way but she would not be stopped and tore through the machine with sheer speed alone.

Spreading her wings out, Kallen spin her machine around like a drill and smashed her way through a light _Avalon_ then fired a radiant beam into another ship.

The _Fomoire_ was suddenly upon the _Valiant_ who had finally withdrawn the crystal and fought to prevent him from getting skewered the large bladed cyclone's various claws.

"Agrah!" Kallen screamed as she fired a radiant disk at one of the claw slash harkens' wire preventing it from reaching the red and gold Knightmare, slicing off the wire and arm. The _Fomoire_ turned and fired another at Kallen which she avoided and then lunged in close to the damn machine.

"Die already!" Kallen shouted and gripped on the machine's scarlet head with her radiant surger arm when suddenly electricity surged through her body.

"AHH!" She screamed in pain. She had forgotten the machine's electromagnetic shield.

And now while the infamous _Guren SEITEN _was stuck on the spider's web, the _Morgana _who had been stalking the Red Lotus throughout the entire battle appeared before her.

"_Well, well what do we have here?"_ The noblewoman gave her an evil grin. _"Well, Kally? What do _you_ value most? Your life?"_

Kallen snarled as electricity burnt her.

Chuckling, Bradley readied her lance. _"I guess not. For my brother!"_

The emerald lance came straight into machine.

_NO!_

Arthur froze again. It was just like back at the palace.

It felt like as if he's been struck by lightning and his body suddenly froze. He felt a great flow enter his mind, to the point where he struggled to contain it. Clutching his head, Arthur let out a silent scream as his mind became flooded with images. But unlike before this was clear and centred around a young woman with red hair.

"_**Don't look at me you pervert!"**_ She screamed at him, dressed in a rather revealing pink suit.

"What is going on...?" Arthur felt as if his head was about to burst.

"_**Tell me Lelouch...why did you come back?"**_ The red haired woman asked, staring at him with deep blue eyes.

"No...What's happening to me?" Arthur shouted and turned to see the _Guren SEITEN_ trapped by the _Fomoire_'s electromagnetic field and was now facing the _Morgana_ at lance point.

_Kallen!_ A dark haired figure shouted in his mind.

Arthur's eyes glowed crimson and suddenly the only thing that mattered to him now was the safety of the fiery red haired woman. Gone was the hostility he felt, gone was the feeling of betrayal, now only a sense of desperation filled him.

He charged at the scene like a raging bull and fired his shield slash harken. The pincer-like harken struck the _Morgana_ in the chest sending it back.

"Agrah!" He raised his golden sword and slashed down leaving a deep gnash on the large Knightmare's red head and the attack stopped the electric attack on the _Guren SEITEN_'s pilot.

The scarlet machine then grabbed its crimson counter-part and dragged it away from the _Fomoire._ To Arthur's relief, the _Guren SEITEN_'s autopilot system was keeping it floating.

"_You stole my kill again!"_ Bradley shouted as she lunged with her lance to skewer the red and gold Knightmare while it was distracted.

Eyes narrowing, Arthur blocked it with his shield and thrust with his sword which stabbed deep into the _Morgana_'s dented shield. The blue and red machine tossed the shield away and the red knight barely had time to withdraw before the blade falls with it. Bradley slashed with her energy wing but the _Valiant_ moved back to avoid the cut and slashed with his sword to cut off the lance arm.

Then Arthur activated his second sword from the shield's triangular end. A second golden blade appeared out and Arthur brought the blade down on one of the _Morgana_'s back energy wings. The blade scratched the yellow energy wings and cut through the metal and destroyed one of the wings.

"_Argrah!"_ Bradley shouted as she dropped down losing her machine's stability. A Valkyrie broke off from the formation and flew to catch her master while its sister in deep rage raised its MVS in an attack on the red and gold Knightmare.

The _Valiant_ readied both of its blades and met the pink _Vincent_'s charge with a shield bash which shoved the swinging MVSs back to its wielder. He brought his long-sword in a slashing arc which missed the Valkyrie. The pink machine turned about and brought its needle blazer up but the red knight was already bringing his shield blade down and sliced off the _Vincent_'s arm.

Before the Valkyrie could realise what happened, a second golden blade had sliced through its chest and cockpit.

"_Sister!" _A female voice snarled in open channel. _"You bastard!"_ A second pink _Vincent_ with two white and blue _Vincents_ and a couple of _Wards_ charged at the red machine.

Blood covered the golden sword from the dead female pilot as the _Valiant_ glared at its new enemies with its sky blue eyes. It raised pointed its sword in warning at the new invaders while its shield covered the _Guren SEITEN_.

Finally Kallen stirred and found her machine behind the crimson and gold _Valiant_.

"Lelouch...?" Kallen muttered.

"Touch her..." Arthur began his tone dangerous. "And I will make sure y_ou die a painful death..."A golden haired Lelouch said, pointing his sword at the hooded armoured guards that surrounded the chained red haired female._

_He was as himself but dressed in a black and red armour gold trimmed completed with a scarlet cloak._

"_Beware! The Knights of Pendragon are upon us!"A Cultist had screamed as the red uniformed soldiers stormed the cavern. "The Dragon's Knights are upon us!"_

_The black-cloaked figure had turned and wailed as the sky rained arrows on them. The guards had no time to react and fell with shafts in their throats and chests._

_In the next moment, armoured figures poured in from all sides wielding swords and lances and fell upon the crowd, hacking them apart like sheep._

_Meliek shouted. "Finish the summoning!"_

_The high priest shook his head. "The moment has passed! Get out! Take the Relics and get out!"_

"_He's right." The female cultist agreed. "There are more like her! We need to make sure the _Order_ survi...!" Before the woman could finish her sentence a spear struck her chest._

"_No!" Meliek glared at the gold dragon uniformed soldier who dared to attack a high priest of the Order gestured._

_The soldier looked back and before he could draw his sword, his mouth spitted blood suddenly and fell back coughing as if an invisible hand had just crushed his heart._

"_No, sister." The man went to his colleague who was clearly dying._

_Neclois went to her side. "She'll be fine." He put his hand on her forehead and his forehead glowed with Geass-sigil._

"_Now take her." The older man told him._

"_What about you?"_

"_I will finish this." He glanced at Kallen and readied his blade._

_He marched towards Kallen and for all what she did, she could not move._

_Neclois stared at her with cold eyes._

"_Be grateful. You are dying for the good of the lord." He raised his dagger and suddenly a sword point came out from his chest._

_A knight in white armour shoved the high priest off, in the mean time the armoured Lelouch arrived to her side as he beheaded a cultist. He turned to block a sword then twisted his hands and cut down the guard._

_He thrust his sword into the ground and reached for her._

_Kallen's eyes shone in tears._

"Lelouch?" She asked.

Arthur however did not hear her. He found himself looking into an explosion of a pink _Vincent_ where its debris showered on him and the _Guren SEITEN_.

"What exactly happened?" He suddenly asked himself. Why had he suddenly gone off like that? The knight did not understand why he had acted like that. Was it Lelouch? Was it the late Emperor's Geass command?

But why would he want him to protect a Black knight? Unless what the girl said was true...

"Lelouch..." She muttered again and Arthur frowned. Maybe he had been wrong.

"_Let's talk about this later."_ Arthur said. _"The others have gotten away."_

Kallen nodded, using her military training to get back on the task. "All we have now is this bunch to take care of."

Arthur nodded. _"Let's do this!"_

With that the _Guren SEITEN_ and _Valiant_ readied their weapons in fighting stance at the enemy who seemed startled by their renew vigour.

The final Valkyrie and her squadron was the only unit left and as they guard the ships, the survivors of the earlier units lunged forward.

Kallen turned her radiant arm to disk mode while Arthur activated his chest beam and arm mounted Hadron blaster ready.

They came towards the two like a swarm of bees and met the duo's barrage. Radiant disks sliced through limbs and bodies tearing Knightmares apart. Beams and Hadron blasts turned machines to dust and explosions.

Kallen suddenly felt a sense of trust from Arthur as the _Valiant_ glance at her. Trusting her instincts, Kallen lunged forward with her superior speed, slashing a _Gloucester_ and a _Ward_ with her MVS knife then blasted a trio of _Sutherlands_ into dust with a radiant wave.

The pair of _Gareth_ they met earlier appeared as the last of the group with the Valkyrie. The pink _Vincent_ gestured and the two bulky Knightmare lurched forward.

Kallen brought her slash harkens down and fired at the _Gareth_ on the left where they halted the machine's charge then lunged herself on the larger machine with a kick then finally finishing it off with a radiant burst on it.

The second _Gareth_ fired its Hadron cannon at Arthur who let it pass aside and then the gold and grey Knightmare slammed a huge fist at the _Valiant_ and tried to fire point blank range. However, the red knight was ready and grabbed the cannon arm with his shield's pincer edge slash harken and pointed the cannon at a different direction letting the beam follow a different direction. A burst from his chest beam tore a hole in the _Gareth_ and Arthur released the machine as it fell back.

His shield, the _Aegis_ was armed with a variety of weapons, the MSV shield, the pincer arm from the sides that was also a slash harken and the blade.

The fleet then suddenly started their bombardment again this time more furiously there was now almost nothing between them and the two demons.

The last squadron in a wedge formation launched their final attack at the duo with the Valkyrie at their head.

Arthur pulled himself at Kallen's rear and she remembered one of the battles she fought earlier under Lelouch.

Arthur nodded in acknowledgement.

"Do it! For Lelouch."

"For Lelouch!" Kallen cried out as she charged in full speed, firing a blast of radiant beam into the wedge's centre. The beam took down a line of Knightmares and Kallen scattered through them, slashing or blasting anything in her way and the ships.

That left Arthur alone with the rest and he let out his shield blade, meeting the attack head on. He swung with his long sword first and sliced a _Ward_ in half then brought his shield blade to cut down a _Gloucester_ then split opened the chest of another Ward with his long sword then brought down his second blade down on the head of a _Vincent_ until it pierced through its torso.

He fired out his right gauntlet mounted spike slash harken at a _Sutherland_'s neck beheading it then swung it around like a mace and the harken hit a trio of the enemy machines. He brought his shield up, withdrawing the blade and fired his pincer slash harken as well then swung it around as he did with his right arm.

The harkens scattered the enemy formation until they were badly scattered.

"_You're going to pay for hurting the mistress!"_ The Valkyrie lunged forward and moved through the swinging slash harkens with practiced ease and lunged at the red and gold Knightmare with its needle blazer while it was still open.

Arthur did not answer and simply brought the slash harkens back and they came back just as the pink _Vincent_ had reached him and they struck the machine and wrapped themselves around the machine's head and torso.

With a twist of his controls, Arthur snapped the _Vincent_ in half from chest and torso. He quickly discarded the machine, the knight activated his Gejun disturber on his shield based to the technology of the disrupter cannon he used on the _Vincent _Mark V stunning all surrounding machines. He then fired his chest crystal out and fired a beam where they scattered and struck all Knightmares around with precise accuracy.

Meanwhile Kallen had blasted her way through three _Caerleons_ and had left the already damaged _Logres_ sinking down.

She faced the second _Logres_ which fired furiously at her and their ferocity of the attack forced Kallen turned turn around, firing radiant disks at the gun turrets and missile launchers. The former Black knight then fired her surger arm beam at their engines, destroying them with steel and radiant beam.

Crew already panicked as their mighty forces were laid wasted by two Knightmares and turned to chaos. The captain tried to stem order with gun shots but no one would listen and he could only watched in horror as the red and gold Knightmare appeared on their bridge and fired out a pincer slash harken from its shield into their screen.

Finally the _Fomoire _reappeared baring the path between the two knights and the final ship. The massive Knightmare glared at the two and lunged forward with spinning its arms.

"Don't worry about it." Arthur told Kallen. "It's just a prototype. It probably has no other weapons other than its claws and armour."

Kallen saw otherwise and the figure looked like a hungry monster from hell but she found herself trusting Arthur...or Lelouch...whoever he was and Kallen lunged forward to meet the machine.

"I will cover you." Arthur stated and started firing his chest beam which bounced off the _Fomoire_'s electromagnetic armour. Kallen now saw that it was supposed to be another Knight Giga Fortress based on the _Siegfried_ but was incomplete and saw it from the clawed hands where only one of them had a Hadron cannon while the other did not.

It was not un-dangerous though as a slash of those claws would tear her _Guren SEITEN_ apart as easy as an MVS blade.

The machine stopped spinning and shot out one of its arms, the Hadron cannon armed one at Kallen but she avoided the blow and beam then fired a radiant disk. Not at the machine but at the wire of the arm harken. The spinning blade stuck the wire and snapped off the arm.

The second arm struck Kallen hard sending her flying away but the hit was worth it, the _Fomoire _was without one arm and it suddenly started malfunctioning losing a part of itself.

"So it is just a prototype." Kallen said to herself, remembering the problem _Gawain_'s Hadron cannons when she and Lelouch told the machine.

Kallen glanced at Arthur who then suddenly fired a large blast of the _Valiant_'s chest beam which struck the _Fomoire _full in the chest and this time the beam had broken through the electromagnetic shielding.

The red and gold machine nodded and Kallen charged forward again as the pink and white beams fired around her raining on the purple and white machine. The _Fomoire_ made a last desperate attack and lunged its slash harken at Kallen but the Knight of Two had flew forward up.

Kallen deactivated her energy wings and let her drop on the _Fomoire_ free fall spinning. Even as the Black Knight commander was hovering, a beam from the _Valiant_ hit the _Fomoire_ hard on the chest destroying what was left of its armour and leaving its engine open. She raised her MVS knife high and slammed the purple blade down hard on the opening.

She withdrew the blade and flew out of range as the machine exploded.

* * *

Castor Rui Britannia rode in the _Equus_ beside his twin brother's machine the _Aquila_ as it flew beside it.

"What happened?" He had muttered out too no one in particular. The Britannian prince tried to think. He and the rest of the Order had attacked the loyalist forces surrounding the base as they retreated and they were _punishing_ them when suddenly the ground exploded.

Despite the Geass possessed by his unit, they were completely unprepared for it and the _Equus_ and the _Alpha_s were buried in the ground.

Then before they knew it, the loyalist forces had returned this time with an entire legion of Arfon knights in new heavily customised Knightmares with based on the red and silver _Vincent_. The rust red coloured machines were as fast as the customised _Vincent_ that had attacked them earlier.

Castor threw his machine into that akin a gallop and jumped high and brought his hammer down a hapless Knightmare to smash it apart but its companions were upon the _Equus_ at the last moment and he was forced to move the centaur Knightmare aside as the Arfons turned to attack. However at that moment the white and red _Alpha_s attacked them.

While the two groups engaged each other, Castor engaged a group of loyalist _Gloucesters_ when one of the Light _Avalons_ suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started firing down on the ground units. With his machine being a ground base attacking, Castor was forced to pull back when a silver and blue machine of those Arfon knightmares attacked him with a huge sword.

At the same time, a fast machine in grey and red had swept upon him with VARIS rounds. While he had managed avoid all attacks, the machine then destroyed two recon _Alphas_ who were coordinating the attacks and he finally decided to retreat.

The Geass Directorate could ill-afford to lose the surviving _Alphas_ in Central Britannia and warned his brother to pull back out.

_Damn, how could that happen?_ Pollux complained as they waded into the shadows.

"No one could have predicted that, brother." Castor replied, calmly through his Geass.

_We can't lose anymore. The Primus is losing his patience and the time is almost coming._

"So what do we do now?" The twin asked.

_We're going to have to talk to the Cardinal and report everything...everything...this Arthur Peregrine could be him you know._

"You mean..."

_Yes...we have much to do brother._

_

* * *

_

**On Board the **_**King's Daughter**_

Lieutenant Nathaniel Reeds of Her Majesty's Household Division or more commonly known as the Imperial Guard had watched the battle in the distance as the _Guren SEITEN_ and the red and gold Knightmare had fought the enemy outnumbered and felt his suspensions of the Red knight.

He shivered as he remembered when the white haired Lelouch suddenly turned away with a drawn pistol.

The two of them and the Marines onboard had suddenly met an attack on board. A black hooded figure with glowing red eyes had attacked them and took out almost half the marines on board with relative ease and watched in shock as Arthur held off the assassin with the sword and pistol until he had blasted it with a small grenade then severed off the man's arms.

"Leave us." Sir Arthur Peregrine told him and the surviving marines as the knight proceeded to presumably interrogate the man. But the Guard officer was reluctant to do it and as he returned to give a report saw the Lelouch-look alike grabbing the assassin's head with a blue glowing left palm then his glowed blue as well.

At first, Reeds thought it was his mind playing tricks as Arthur came out to go to his Knightmare. But he had seen slight blue glow in the red knight's already sky blue eyes and saw it was true.

He had to report to his superiors...no. He had to report to the UFN and the Black Knights...

* * *

Jeremiah was surprised to find himself surprised about how the battle had turned out. He strode amongst what was left of the battlefield looking at the burning bodies and metal. As a veteran of the terrible Great War, Jeremiah had long used to the carnage and yet could feel unease watching everything.

He watched as the two crimson Knightmares landing alongside the Arfon Knight's new Knightmare the rust red coloured _Alymere_s who lined up in salute to the Knight Commander.

The _Valiant_ landed near them and behind him to Jeremiah's surprise was the _Guren SEITEN_. Arthur got out of his machine first in a black and red pilot suit and landed down. Sayoko appeared behind him in the same pilot suit only red and white.

"Is that Miss Kallen?" She asked in surprise.

Jeremiah nodded. "I think so. Oh no, this may not be good."

Sayoko nodded. "Master Lelouch wouldn't want her here."

* * *

Kallen watched in awe as the rust red coloured Knightmares that formed around her and Arthur. They looked like Gordon's machine save for colour and wondered how much they'll perform in battle.

Arthur stood beside her.

"I have some things to attend. There are many wounded at the camp a mile here. A Knight of the Round in the area may ease their pain." He said cryptically, then walking off to join a group of soldiers with red shoulder guards.

He paused first then without turning spoke.

"You fought well." And that was all.

Despite the simple compliment, Kallen felt pride in her chest and she watched the red and black figure walking off.

"I'll see you in Pendragon?" Kallen despite herself shouted to the walking figure.

He paused at her answer then turned and nodded.

For the first time since that fateful day, Kallen felt her heartache at ease.

"Maybe...just maybe..." Kallen muttered to herself before returning to her cockpit.

Now the only question was...what was that vision she saw?

* * *

Dunford watched Arthur approaching him and the tied up Wilde flanked with Jeremiah and Sayoko.

"Sir Arthur." He nodded.

"Harry." Arthur nodded back and took a look at the kneeling Wilde. Then without warning, he drew his gold and black pistol and shot the nobleman in the head.

"What are you doing?" Dunford shouted in surprise.

"It's not him." Arthur said, returning his pistol to its holster.

That surprised everyone.

"What do you mean?"

"The real Wilde escaped hours ago. He is a master strategist, he knew he was compromised."

Jeremiah stared at him. "How did you know?"

Arthur flexed his left hand. "I had a discussion with a friend."

Dunford, despite himself glared at the white haired knight, finally losing patience.

"So all those lives that was sacrificed was all for nothing?"

"No." Arthur stated calmly. "They brought us something else. Have teams to recover what's left of the base."

With that the red knight left.

Dunford gritted his teeth and stormed off. "The real Arthur would have never let this happen!"

Jeremiah stared at the ancient knight in sympathy and pity. He did not know how his master was. A soft hand touched his cheek.

"You are hurt." Sayoko murmured.

Jeremiah regarded her smiling. "I am a cyborg. It's fine."

Sayoko grinned. "Not now." She grabbed his hand and let him away. Jeremiah despite himself felt heat rising to through both his organic and robotic organs as he realised what she meant.

**Phew! Finally another chapter done. How was it? I think it was too long and kinda messy and a bit corny especially the Knight's Oath thing. Please let me know of your views in this and anyway to improve it.  
**

**PS: The **_**Valiant**_** is based on the **_**Infinite Justice**_** from Gundam Seed with the red and gold **_**Lancelot**_** from the magazine. I decided to use the name to further fit the story as the Knight Valiant based on the name Prince Valiant comics of the Arthurian Legend and will play a role later.**

**The **_**Fomoire **_**is based on the _Regnant _from Gundam 00.  
**

**Hope you enjoyed it. Read & Review.**


	21. Chapter 6: The Face of My lover

**Directorate Base, Unknown**

A small shuttle escorted by a pair of _Vincents_ in green and silver pierced through the clouds and lowered down towards a waterfall.

The waterfall was particularly a large one, surrounded by a rainforest that seemed to be snarling at the newcomers and the thick vines wavered in the wind as if wanting to tear the vehicles apart.

The 7th Generation Knightmares halted just sky of the waterfall and turned about to guard the rear of its patron while the shuttle seemly flew straight through into waterfall and its hard rocky surface underneath.

However, no explosion, not even a single sound of collision sounded as the shuttle disappeared under the water.

The _Vincents _looked around for anyone spying, their rifles ready to tear anything apart. After a few seconds, the pilots nodded their satisfaction and followed the shuttle into the waterfall.

Inside the hidden cave, a high military standard hanger miraculously appeared and a file of three dozen soldiers in dark blue and white stood attention with rifled-pole arms at the ready.

The aircraft slid down out of the water, roared over the assembled multitude, and settled with a whine of dampers at the landing ground.

A figure emerged from the craft and began to walk down the corridor towards the waiting commanders.

The figure wore black body armour of a Britannian army sergeant with the exception of a long sabre at his side.

White coated guards flowed out and fell in a line and saluted the armoured figure.

One of the base commanders walked up and nodded to the figure.

"Welcome back, Lord Wilde."

The man nodded, letting his long brown hair flow out. "I was right about Base Delta."

He gave the helmet to one of his honour guards and walked with the commander.

"Did you do what I asked?" Wilde asked as he accepted a wine glass from a servant.

"Yes, milord." The commander nodded. "Our contact in the UFN is ready to hear your word."

"Good, Good." The nobleman replied almost cheerily. He turned to a man dressed in a green Knightmare pilot.

"Ah, Edward." He smiled. "What have you got for me?"

"The recording is done, my lord." The grim faced man replied. "I haven't seen it myself but I'm told that the footage is excellent."

Wilde grinned. "Very good. Gather as much as you can. It'll come in useful."

As he said, a trio of cloaked figures approached him.

"I'm glad to see you made it, Lord Wilde." The foremost of the figure greeted. "Even if you did let our research burn into ashes."

Wilde shrugged. "Whatever happened, it wasn't a complete loss, Meleik."

The second figure bristled. "Complete loss? That was one of our major facilities. You promised us that we would be protected. If this continues, there will not be any more _special_ soldiers for you and you can go back down to the gutter Lelouch threw you into!"

Edward drew his pistol. "Watch what you say you freaks!"

The second figure glared at the guard officer. "Oh...please what could a normal human do to me...I should just..."

"Now, now brother." A smooth female voice cut in as the third figure went to put a hand on his sibling's shoulder.

Wilde showed only indifference to the whole situation. "I must admit I was careless and that the red knight surprised me. However, this gives us an advantage."

"What do you mean?" The aggressive one asked.

"From what I heard, this knight is a former servant to Emperor Lelouch. And that he hates the Black Knights even more than we do."

"So?"

"And seeing how paranoid the Black Knights are," Another unseen figure entered. "And how hectic the UFN had begun...thanks to our branch in Asia. This could get rid of all obstacles and without us lifting a single finger."

Wilde grinned at the newcomer. "I can see why you're the Cardinal. Yes, all we need to do is to create a little more panic in our Black Knight friends."

* * *

**What have you done?**A voice called out to him.

He was confused. "What are you talking about?"

**You fool, you know you're not supposed to interact with her!**

"I don't understand."

**I gave specific orders that she was not to be touched! Do you realise what it would cause us?**

"What do you mean...who are you talking about?"

**Do you really want this...?**

"_Damn it!" He snarled as he entered in while the doors closed in behind. He finally found the woman he was looking for standing before the glowing light. She was beautiful but he could not recognise her. She wore a dark red and black blouse covered in blood; her matching red hair was let loose so it hung over her shoulders in a mess._

_He called to her but yet he could not hear her name. It was in his mouth but he himself could not hear it._

_She turned to look at him, her blue eyes glittering with tears._

"_Lelouch?" She murmured._

"_...please...don't do this. We'll find another way." He begged her. "You don't need to do this."_

_She shook her beautiful face. "We both know I have to. It has been marked for centuries now."_

"_No , please." He begged, walking towards her._

"_Stop, don't come any closer!" She shouted, raising a hand. "I have to do this! I have to or the world will be under their control! My life is nothing compared to what is at stake!"_

"_No! We'll find another way. _**I**_'ll find another way! I can do it."_

"_There's no time...and you know it!" The woman snapped. _

"_Please. I can't lose..." He struggled with his words. "...I can't lose you."_

_She smiled at him. "Oh...Lelouch...I...that's so unlike you. Thank you for everything. Thank you for your love."_

"_NO!" He shouted reaching for her as she started fading away. " NOOO!" _

_She disappeared._

"NO!" Arthur woke up lying on a bed in his suite. His hair matted with sweat and leaned back against mattress.

What was that dream? And who was that girl?

Arthur turned to the window. He was in Kanas and he was here because he had heard a Geass agent was seen in the city.

The only thing now was to wait for the next move to move against the Geass Order. Arthur's suspicions were now confirmed that the Geass order was now allied with the rebel forces which explain the fact that many of the forces serving the rebels were not of their own free will. It explained how they had controlled of such a large military force and how they had managed to defeat many loyalist garrisons but there was no proof against it...at least not without endangering the Arfons themselves.

He wished Lelouch was alive. The Emperor would have known what to do.

Arthur froze. Why did she call him Lelouch? Could it be one of the former Emperor's memories? If so then...

Why was _he_ experiencing them?

The incident with the Geass order was an isolated event although rumours of a natural disaster was now spreading and if nothing was done about it, it could risk everything.

Fortunately the Arfon knights had operatives and agents everywhere. Anya had reported that the Imperial forces were getting pretty suspicious of them and that there were those who might prove to be hostile to the Knights, particularly to Arthur himself.

"You're linked with Lelouch. That's enough for the UFN." Anya said during the last meeting in the same monotone that she always used, despite the seriousness of the message.

As he looked down from his room, he caught the sight of a familiar face standing near the video phone.

What was she doing here? He wondered. Was she following on him? Was she _spying_ on him? Was she the agent they sent?

Or perhaps it was just a coincidence?

* * *

**New London (Topeka), County of Kansas**

"_So you're in Kansas now?"_ Mellenia asked.

"That's right. We helped the local troops in Iowa. There were too many losses though."

The Knight of Nine's face turned sombre. _"I see."_

Kallen nodded. "Right now, I'm not sure what'll happen but until we get news from Zero, I guess we'll be staying here for a while."

"_I'm so jealous. It's not very pretty here in Illinois. The rebel bastards are holding the cities as hostages and we can't risk aerial bombardment at least not without killing the people we're trying to protect."_

Kallen grimaced. "Cowardly bastards."

Mellenia shook her head. _"But Zero'll find a way. He'll pull of a miracle."_

"I'm sure he will." Kallen replied, although she was shaken inside. Trying to think of Zero as anyone but Lelouch was a lot harder to accept even if it was all acting.

The brunette grinned at her. _"Heh, I'm sure you know best. I'll see ya around!" _She turned off with a wink.

Kallen sighed as she terminated the video-talk. The red haired woman turned to look at the city.

Despite the civil war raging around Kansas still looked as beautiful as ever and untouched by the gruesome fighting. The civilians walked around living their daily lives ignorant of what was happening. The shopping malls and theatres were still open and running. The roads were still crowded. With the exception of the soldiers in uniform, an outsider would not have believed there was actually a war at all.

After the fighting, Kallen rallied the surviving loyalist troops and brought them to the border of Missouri and Iowa. The Imperial reinforcements arrived a while later and took them from Kallen. So now that she was done, Kallen was going to turn back to Pendragon.

Unfortunately however, rebel troops from Iowa had tried to invade Kansas and while they were turned back, Kallen thinking that she might be needed decided to stay in Kansas.

Another thing that held her mind was that vision she experience at the battle. It was like a continuation of those nightmares she had been getting. But what does Lelouch have to do with this? Was Geass part of the plot? And more than that could Lelouch still be alive? Is it that he was Arthur himself hiding from everyone?

Kallen wanted to find out. It had been on the edge of her mind since that fateful battle they fought side by side.

To distract herself, she turned to look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a tight sleeveless black shirt with a short pink mini-skirt and pink sneakers ending with a long blue jacket that matched her eyes.

Her hair was longer, she noted. Kallen since Lelouch's death she hadn't cut her hair ever since to forget how she looked like on that day. It made her look...older...a female version of her long lamented brother. She did not wear any jewellery or anything else other than a pair of ear-rings.

She knew she was turning heads those passing by, most of them males admiring her features despite trying not to get any attraction.

Kallen had told Arthur that she would see him in Pendragon and as much as she wanted to be there now, she could not and it frustrated her.

"What am I even doing here?" Kallen groaned.

"That is a question, I was going to ask." A familiar male voice said behind her.

Instinctively Kallen turned about her fist swinging to catch the man's face and only his incredible reflexes saved him from getting a broken jaw.

The white haired figure raised an eyebrow. "Nice. Very quick. What they say about you is true."

"Lel...Arthur?" Kallen blurted.

"In the flesh." Arthur replied.

Kallen was shocked by his appearance and although not unwanted, she pouted her lips for startling her.

"What are you doing here?"

"That's the same thing I want to know about you."

"What happened to ladies' first?" Kallen sneered, despite herself not wanting to let the knight get the better of her.

"And you're a Knight of the Round. I forgot. Forgive me, my lady." He half-bowed mockingly.

Kallen wanted to punch the knight's face even if it was Lelouch's. He had made her look foolish and made it look she was using her title to her advantage which was something she would never have done knowingly. He was just as annoying as that royal idiot!

"I'm here merely on an errant for my Lord and master." Arthur did not elaborate further and Kallen looked into those sky blue eyes to see anything. And again like Lelouch, she could not find anything in them.

"And you?" Arthur asked innocently.

Biting her irritation, Kallen answered. "The rebels are still around. They could use some help."

"I see." He seemed to have accepted her answer.

Kallen took the time to study the white haired Lelouch. He was wearing a white and red jacket on a black-blue shirt with long black pants. A pair of violet sunglasses hung on the edge of his coat.

_He even dresses like Lelouch!_ Kallen thought in surprise.

"So what would you do now?" Arthur asked.

"I'm not sure." Kallen said lamely then looked up to his face. "Do you want to go have lunch?"

Arthur's eyes widen, surprised that she asked him such a question. Kallen knew it was very _random_ to ask something like that considering how they had only talked for a few times but she hoped that he would accept it.

The white haired Lelouch considered it for a moment. The knight from what he had been informed and knew, he was talking with a prominent Black Knight officer. She claimed that she had served Lelouch loyally and that she was against their betrayal. Arthur doubted that but instead of saying no Arthur said, "Alright."

Kallen smiled, a genuine one at that and led the red knight to a nearby mall.

After passing by several fast-food places, they decided to stop at a Pizza Hut outlet. As Kallen read the menu, Arthur began to examine her more carefully.

He suspected that she was only interested in him because of his similarity to Lelouch but in a way that of an old friend...rather than an enemy. And since that moment in battle, he knew that he might in a way to have been Geassed into protecting those Lelouch cared for such as his sister Nunnally. But why would Kouzki be on the list? Was she not just a soldier? Why would Lelouch care so much about her? Arthur was curious and he would find out more.

Perhaps...

...Perhaps what she claim was true...

And if not...

Well...he would take full advantage of it...

"What are you ordering?" She asked him, interrupting him from his thoughts.

"Whatever you would have," He replied, automatically not showing his surprise.

"Then we'll order one large Hawaiian." She told the waiter.

As the waiter walked off, an awkward silence fell before the two: Arthur fidgeting with edge of his belt while Kallen tried to think about something to talk about without ruining the chance she has to interact with him.

"I read about you." Kallen said. "Or at least, what was written in the Army archives."

Arthur gave her a look of indifference. "And?"

Kallen felt scrutinized under that stare and a stare by a man who resembled the one that held her heart.

"You're not what I expected."

The white haired Lelouch scoffed. "What do you mean by that?"

The half-Britannian woman pulled her hair back. "You were a Britannian knight who held a respectable life yet you held nothing but hatred for the Empire."

Kallen bit her lips. "I mean, I'm not saying that I don't understand that feeling but you grew up in the Homelands where the best what Britannia offers..."

"Britannia was a nation that focused on the survival of the fittest. There was no such thing as compassion. No such thing as real honour or mercy. That was what was considered by Emperor Charles as weak. I cannot accept that." Arthur spoke of it with a passion that Kallen so easily recognised.

"That's what my brother believed, too." Kallen said. "That's what Lelouch believed as well...what he made me believe in."

Arthur looked at her curiously. He was about to ask something when the waiter returned with the pizza. He automatically pulled out some money when Kallen did as well and end up mimicking each other.

"It's alright. I'll pay." Kallen said.

"No, I'll do it. It wouldn't be proper."

"Let me!"

"You're supposed to be the lady. So I should pay for it."

"You're making fun of me aren't you?" Kallen narrowed her eyes.

Without answering, Arthur turned to pass the money first but before he could reach the waiter, Kallen grabbed his wrist in such a speed that actually managed to startle the white haired Lelouch.

"Here, take mine." Kallen snapped at the poor confused waiter.

"Why are you being so insistent?" Arthur asked.

"Just let me." She continued.

Finally, the waiter solved the conflict by taking half from Kallen and half from Arthur.

"There. That solves everything." The waiter grinned at them. "A nice couple like you shouldn't fight over such a thing."

Kallen's face turned the same colour as her hair. "No...No...It's...it's...not like that!" She blurted although she half-wished it's true.

Arthur looked only confused but before he could say or do anything, Kallen quickly grabbed a slice of the pizza and started munching on it. She did it so unceremoniously that despite himself Arthur laughed lightly.

Kallen with her face blushing scowled behind the pizza slice she was eating.

Arthur without realising it, continued smiling at the redden face of the half-Britannian.

Somehow...Arthur suddenly realised.

Somehow, it felt familiar. Arthur had never reacted such a way towards women...at least not naturally. He had of course as Lelouch's agent had been involved with the opposite sex as part of his missions before where he had used his charm as a weapon but this was entirely different.

There was something about the exchange with her. Something so familiar. As if...he had known her? Kozuki claimed that she knew Lelouch and was close to him...if so why would _he..._Arthur Peregrine felt such a way?

Kallen had actually finished eating her slice and she looked up and saw the familiarity in her companion's face...the one that she had rarely seen in Ashford.

_Lelouch...could it really be you?_

Kallen took another slice and then looked into the plate to see a packet of yellowish-brown liquid.

She remembered that day, when C.C had interrupted them when she had embarrassingly fallen over Lelouch like _literally_.

She was wondering how it happened especially after seeing such a devastated and unmotivated Lelouch, that Zero had returned and led the miraculous escape of one million Zeros over to the Chinese Federation.

"_Tell me, Lelouch...why did you come back to us?"_ She had asked.

"_Kallen," _Lelouch had asked, his hazy violet eyes losing their usual snide and arrogance bore into hers._ "When this is all over, would you return to Ashford with me?"_

Kallen's eyes had widened in surprise that he had asked her to come with him and she stared deeply into his violet orbs filled with for once uncertainty.

"_I..."_ He had started.

"_Tabasco?"_

"Tabasco?" Arthur asked, catching her eye. He held it up.

Kallen smirked. "C.C always did love it." She had wondered what had happened to the immortal. It would be good to meet her again...

Their last meeting was not the least friendly, fighting above the _Avalon_ as defending Lelouch while she with tears in her eyes and a knife in her heart desperately tried to kill him.

She had utterly tried to convince herself that Lelouch was not the man she loved but a terrible dictator that used her heart to achieve his own goals.

After she had destroyed the _Albion_ and was saved by Gino Weinburg, they had spent some time hiding together from Lelouch's forces until they were caught. She welcomed it as it pushed away the heartache and only when she did felt some effect to it, she realised that she had been betrayed again...this time...Lelouch had betrayed her heart. Lelouch had been more than the man she loved.

"Why are you crying?" Lelouch asked her.

"Something in my eye." She rubbed her eyes with her jacket sleeves.

The black prince brought a hand forward and wiped a tear near her cheek. His contact broke all barriers and Kallen closed her eyes letting more tears fall freely and leaned towards the hand, holding on to it.

Arthur's eyes widen at her reaction. He wanted to pull back but he didn't. The white haired Lelouch felt that he should comfort her. Something was telling him to do it. Or surprisingly rather it felt like someone...

* * *

"Damn, he really is a ladies' man!" Anduin muttered out loud watching through his sniper scope from his suite.

"_Where is he?"_ Dunford asked.

"He's talking to that hot Knight of Two at a pizza stall. Damn, he's already touching her face."

"Who's touching who?" Jack Nelson, the young English knight from Britain asked entering the room with a bottle of root-beer.

"Our Lord King Arthur's sweet talking Her Ladyship Kouzki."

The young British pilot leapt towards the window forgetting his drink. "Bloody hell, let me see."

"_Remember lads," _Gordon reminded. _"We're here to keep a close eye on Sir Arthur's back, not to spy on him."_

"Come on, mate." Jack replied. "It's not like every day we get to see him act like a real human."

"_Gordon's right." _Dunford's voice broke in_. "Lord Jeremiah? Are you picking up anything?"_

The Britannian knight said_, "Nothing here. I'll never let anything happen to his Highness."_

"Why does he keep calling him that?" Jack asked, peering through the scope.

"Beats me." Anduin replied. "What are they doing now?"

Jack licked his lips and peered closely. "Blimey, she's crying on his hand!"

"The guy's such a romeo!" The blond Britannian muttered. "Wish he taught me that instead the damn sword!"

"Heh," The younger knight smirked. "Trying on Calavaris?"

The former Special Forces officer was back from the main front after fighting alongside the Knights of the Round. He had spoken time and time again about his encounter with the Knight of Five, Lady Alleria Calvarias and how he felt it was more than a coincidence that they met again after the attack on New Pendragon.

"I wish I was back at the Palace." Anduin grumbled.

"You suck, mate."

Anduin frowned. "Give me the scope."

"What? I've just started. You've been watching them since they arrived."

"It's _my_ scope."

"Well...you pommies are...oh bugger...they're going off already. I wonder which hotel they'll go."

"I hope it's one that we could actually see clearer..." Anduin grumbled.

"_You two are hopeless..." _Dunford muttered.

"Come on, Harry." Anduin called. "You're in the best place to watch him. You could see them better than we could."

"Yeah, mate. You practically volunteered for it. You must be seeing all the good actions, you lucky bastard."

"_I'm watching to make sure they don't cause anymore problems for the Order! Nothing else. The Arthurian dogma must be maintained! Not like what happened at Iowa!"_

"Where's the fun in that?"

"_Stay focus, all of you! If anything should happen to him, I'll tear your worthless heads apart!" _Jeremiah_'s _voice boomed.

"_Jeremiah's right." _Gordon relied. _"Stay focus. This is an official Arfon Knight business. Not some holiday trip."_

"What's his problem?" Jack asked Anduin who just shrugged.

"_I've got a visual!"_ Gordon called out.

"_Where?"_ Dunford asked.

"_Two suspects walking down the second block. They're following them."_

Jack swept the scope around. "I see them."

"Gimme the gun." Anduin pulled the Englishman away and took his usual place as the sniper. "Eh? Wait! Hold on. They're not hostiles! I repeat, they're not hostiles!"

Jack stared at the blond Britannian. "You know them?"

"Yeah, met them in Pendragon. That blonde's an Ashford. She's a free-lance reporter actively helping Her Majesty. They're old friends."

* * *

"Kallen!" The red haired woman jumped and as she turned her sight was obstructed by a cloud of blond hair. She did however, recognised her voice.

"Milly?" Kallen hugged her friend back.

"Surprised to see me?" The former noblewoman gave her a wink.

"Not really." The Knight of Two smiled wryly at her former president. "You always seemed to stalk us everywhere."

Rivalz walked up behind the two hugging friends. "Yeah, well. It's fun doing that." The blunette smiled as he carried Milly's camera.

"You didn't take any pictures did you?" Kallen asked eying the camera. She noted that Arthur was watching with confusion at her reaction and she was suddenly embarrassed if they had seen how she had reacted towards Arthur.

"Not really." Rivalz replied innocently as Kallen tried to take the camera and was surprised by the speed at she charged at him. "Oh crap, I forgot that you were acting all those times!"

Kallen growled as she chased Rivalz around Milly. "Give me that camera!" Being a military woman, she easily caught the camera. "If I find anything...I'm gonna...what..."

To her surprise, there were no pictures...no pictures at all! And that made her suspicious and Kallen glanced at Rivalz and saw a purple memory card in his hand.

"Gimme that!" Kallen called as she charged at him again and Rivalz let out a girly yelp.

"Ah, Lelouch help me!" He let out involuntarily and immediately clamped a hand on his mouth.

An uncomfortable silence overwhelmed them. The bystanders stared at them for muttering the name of the hated Emperor while the group themselves were embarrassed and saddened by the memory of their long lamented friend.

As the people walked back to their own business, the three friends maintain their silence.

Arthur broke it as he joined them. "You were Lelouch's friend?" He asked Rivalz quietly.

"Yea, we were in school..." Rivalz looked in alarm as he notice for the first time how closely similar the knight looked like their old friend.

"It's alright." Arthur said. "I served under him. I knew that he was a good man."

Rivalz glanced at Kallen then at Milly who nodded.

"Yeah, he was...I don't understand why it did all happen!" He fisted his hands in frustration and Arthur gave him a sad understanding look and Kallen was a bit envious of Rivalz. He did not get the anger and the position that he had to engage his friend in battle.

"I see. I did not know him that well." Arthur said. "But I can say that he took his friendships seriously and never forgotten them. Yours as well, Milly Ashford." He turned to the blonde reporter. "I thank you for everything you've done for them." By 'them', he meant the Vi Britannia siblings.

Milly gave him a sad smile. "We're friends. That's what friends do."

"And you're Lelouch's friend?" Rivalz said, happily. "So you're ours!"

Arthur was surprised when he held out his hand and as he shook it felt a sight familiarity as well. Rivalz...Milly...they were so familiar.

Milly held out hers and remembering that she was a lady, Arthur bent to kiss her hand an action which both Rivalz and Kallen bristled. Rivalz, Arthur suddenly realised was deeply in love with the blond woman.

As for Kallen he had no idea why.

Kallen could feel her eyes burning again then decided to change the subject. "What are you doing here anyway?" Her voice was obvious with emotion.

"Snooping around as usual." Milly said. "Nina sent her regards. She's with our Lloyd."

"The girl with that old coot?" Arthur smiled. "I remember her seeing her several times on campaign."

Rivalz looked at them both. "I don't know how you soldiers handle all this tensions."

"It's not enjoyable, I'll tell you that." Kallen explained.

"But you get used to it." Arthur replied.

The foursome walked down the pavement when Milly suddenly stopped.

"Speaking of snooping. I just remembered something."

She reached deep into her bag and pulled out something.

Arthur and Kallen drew closer.

The blond reporter took out another photo which was of an old native aborigine ruins.

In the middle of town square was a statue or an idol...a statue of a man, a military soldier at that with a symbol on its left arm.

Kallen's eyes widened in surprise.

A Geass symbol.

"What _is_ that?" Arthur feigned surprise. _This is bad. If they find out..._

Milly shook her head. "I'm not too sure but we saw the symbol on a website."

Kallen was surprised. "Website? What website?"

"Something from a British website." Rivalz explained. "It's supposed to be the symbol of some kind of cult in the middle ages or something. Would have thought it was some hoax if it didn't appear over here."

She took out a digital camera and played a video clip. It was an aerial battle between the Imperial Guards and the assassins at Pendragon. It was barely visible. The attackers' machines were merely shadows. That was until one exploded and the explosion illuminated the shoulder pad of one shadow. The same symbol...

Arthur looked at them sharply. "Who else have you told?"

"No one. Figured that if anyone should know it'd be you guys."

Arthur shared a look with Kallen and Milly saw it.

"You wanna go after them?"

Arthur nodded. Kallen glanced at the white haired knight. "I thought you had an errant."

"This is more important. The life of the Empress could be at stake." _And I can't have you meddling into Geass alone._ He turned to Milly. "How do we get there?"

Rivalz pulled out a key and grinned.

* * *

_They were shadows, nothing more, as they slipped along the old trade route that was deserted this hour of the night. They were heading north, into the smoky cavern._

_Heading for the cultist's final hide out._

"_Be ready," Lelouch warned as he drew his sword._

_The eighteen other men and women who now dropped down onto the tracks and ran lightly along the stone path, their feet making barely a sound, were accustomed to manoeuvring in the darkness, and the path was a straight shot. Lelouch's feet, however, did make some slight sounds, and he frowned to himself. He was in this instance the weakest link in the chain. His training had been much different from those of his compatriots. While he was unquestionably as deadly as they, his manner of attack was quite different, and he was more than willing to let himself to be guided and corrected. All nineteen of them wore helms or masks to protect their identities._

"This is all too familiar to me." Lelouch murmured.

The armoured figure appeared again. "They do say history repeats itself."

"I just didn't realise how close they do repeat."

_Lelouch had Gwaine and Tristran leading the rest of his small army to the main entrance while he, the prince would personally lead this infiltration mission to open up the hideout and cut off any form of escape for the cultists who had caused the disappearance of so many of his subjects._

_Though most were from his royal guard, there were several from other units and from the local militia. Lelouch had insisted they be included. Every trained assassin could do the job, but locals who had lost their family and kin would stand to benefit the most from the destruction of this monstrous _

_Cult and reassure their people in ways that the nobility and soldiers could not._

_Prior to the mission, Gwaine had his light horsemen scouted out the entire area to gather as much of the little intelligence, so the group would have some form of idea._

"_The boys said there are some buggers in black cloaks poppin here and there," Gwaine had reported. "Bad black cloaks." He glanced at Lelouch's royal guard who chuckled. They also wore black cloaks to symbolising they were the prince's men._

_Now they ran, swiftly and for the most part silently, until they reached the subterranean lake. Lelouch did not spare the wonders of the lake, visible through strong glass, a second glance. His mind was utterly on the mission._

_They were to expect resistance as rumours say that they would be performing their ritual and such intruders would definitely be unwelcomed._

_On they ran, no one growing even slightly out of breath. Lelouch had his knights who were mainly dressed in black leather now instead of their usual armour trained in the arts of stealth which was frowned upon by many of the nobility as well as his father's own knights. Other than himself and Launcelot who wore their signature armour though hidden by their cloaks, everyone else wore hard black leather with short swords and duel daggers. Armoured knights would be needed when the real fighting starts and the two would need to be at the blunt of it._

_A sound reached Lelouch's ears—a slight whisper. At once he slowed, as did his companions. In the dim light he gesture for them to prepare for battle. The men drew various weapons—daggers, awls painted with poison, gloves with special devices built inside them. _

_They moved forward, slowly, and this time even Lelouch's feet did not make noise on the creaky metal. He was learning. Now he could glimpse the guards up ahead. There were five of them. _

_They stood like statues in the dim light their cloaks and hoods hiding their armour and weapons._

_Lelouch held up his hand and brought it down once, twice, three times._

_The attackers sprang._

_Each guard had a black-leather-clad killer atop him before he could do more than gasp in surprise. Lelouch had charged forward, swords at the ready, biting back a yell, but by the time he was there, the five had been quickly and quietly killed. _

_One had a knife in his eye. Another's neck had been snapped. A third's face was swollen in reaction to a swift-acting poison, froth still dripping from his mouth. Two knights rose cleaning their blades emotionlessly and efficiently, from the final two kills._

_Launcelot stared at them with disgust. Lelouch knew that his friend was a true image of a knight in shining armour and to see men dying so cold-heartedly was something he had a hard time accepting._

_Lelouch himself took no pleasure from this but he knew what must be done._

"Funny." The real Lelouch muttered. "I didn't expect the King Arthur we know so well to be...so..."

"Blunt?" The knight asked.

"Practical." Lelouch replied.

"Reminds you of yourself?" The armoured enigma continued. Lelouch did not answer instead watched as he retracted the steps of his ancestor to purge against the vile sect that would one day become...the Geass Directorate.

* * *

**Two Hours later**

Despite the rough nature of the land, Kansas was indeed a beautiful place. And unlike other parts of Britannia, it was relatively warm. The land was rugged but it was purely made from nature without human intervention which was rather rare in the Homelands.

"There was once a battle here." Arthur said to her, his white hair dancing in the wind. They were in the news van which Milly and Rivalz had been using but opened up the windows to see the scenery.

Kallen turned to regard the white haired Lelouch.

"After the War of the Dukes, the newly reunited Britannian government decided to expand into the West for more land. The Spanish had largely been driven off but the natives were not ready to give up."

He pointed at a particular plain. "The Emperor sent an emissary to let the locals know the arrival of Britannia and their submission to the Imperial crown. Heh. The only thing that returned was pieces of the poor idiot."

Rivalz shuddered. "I thought that was only a legend."

"Perhaps." Arthur agreed. "But whatever it was, the entire Britannian army was mobilized and even the Knights of the Round were unleashed."

"Whatever happened to them?" Kallen asked.

"They were slaughtered. The natives were fierce fighters and had terrain and spirit as an advantage. They were fighting to defend their lands against the invaders from across the sea and fought with a passion to protect their way of life. And rightly so." He turned sombre. "But having right on your side was no match for guns and sabres."

Kallen looked to the rocks around them, imagining the battles back then. Horsemen riding around firing and charging at each other...

Suddenly the van jumped.

"Whoa! What the heck was that?" Rivalz shouted as he got out of the vehicle.

Arthur also got out.

After a moment, Rivalz cried out.

"We got a flat."

Arthur examined the damage. "How far can we make it without wearing out what's left of the tire?"

"In this heat?" Rivalz mentally calculated the distance. "Not a chance. We'll be lucky to make it to the next settlement."

"Crap." Milly muttered. "The place is still hours away."

"Great." Kallen said, wiping the sweat on her forehead. "This weather is killing me."

"What's this?" The landscape contained a dry rocky area not uncommon in Kansas and their known county landmarks of rock monuments.

"That's the Chalk Formations at Smoky Hills..." Kallen commented. "This area is supposed to be crawling with them. Rumours say that in the past there were sakurdite mines here."

"There were." Milly agreed. "But take a look at that." She pointed at one particular formation. Kallen peered closely.

"I don't see anything." Kallen admitted after a moment, she glanced at Milly and Rivalz.

The blunette shrugged.

"Don't look at me. I'm just as confused as you are."

"The rock formations..." Arthur said suddenly. "They're too uniform."

Milly sighed in relief. "Glad there's someone who understands Geography." She muttered. "At other times, I'd say it's a coincidence but with this?"

On the ground, Kallen picked up a small metal piece which looked like a broken computer memory card.

"A memory card?" Rivalz asked.

Arthur looked over to the horizon. "There must be a town nearby."

"Then we head for town first then check out what's over that ridge."

* * *

**New London, Army Headquarters**

"Are you certain of what you saw, Lieutenant?" Major General William Leroy of the 9th Army division asked, dubious.

"Yes, sir." Reeds answered.

The Britannian officer fell back to his chair.

"Are you sure you weren't just drunk?" A Colonel in a well made black and gold uniform. "It is not uncommon for officers to take to drink."

The Lieutenant bristled at the insult. "Of course not!" Reeds snapped. "I swear by the Empress' name that's what I saw!"

The senior officers looked baffled. "This is a serious accusation, Lieutenant." The General said. "To insult a knight who saved the Empress herself of treason and such an act and on grounds of extraordinary matters. What proof do you have of this?"

"I am part of Her Majesty's Imperial Guard." Reeds proclaimed with pride. "Do you think I would make up such a make-believe story if the Empress's life...no Britannia's sake was at stake?"

"Perhaps..." Leroy considered. "But then again..."

"I believe him." A voice cut through the grumbles. A tall well built man in a long black uniform and a black helm with a violet visor arrived. He wore a Black knight symbol on his left shoulder but none of the Britannians recognised the man's uniform.

"Who are you?" The General demanded.

"I am Captain Ogami Kojima of the United Federation of Nations' Security Service.

"Rumours said that Emperor Lelouch had in possession of mystic powers similar to hypnosis, sir. Which is why Lelouch was able to in fact defeat him opponents so easily when he conquered the Empire. After all, it is a good question why the Imperial family would suddenly support the man who turned them all into slaves."

"You're not serious?" A Colonel blurted.

The Japanese officer nodded. "I'm afraid I am. Only a selected few knew of this. That's why we sided with Prince Schneizel over Lelouch during the war."

"Look. I don't care about what you Black knights are going to do." Reeds replied. "I'm worried about Her Majesty. So you going to tell us what will happen?"

"We need to find out more of this Arthur." Ogami proclaimed. "Whether he is a threat or not and find out more of this...power. I have the authorisation of the UFN to use whatever means necessary...Lieutenant, if you will."

As Reeds followed the Black knight out, a video screen appeared behind the general.

"Sir, we have friendlies coming in. At least a battalion size unit but we can't match any of signs on any of our forces."

"Of course not." The General grumbled. "They're part of those damn Black knights."

* * *

When Kallen had returned from the New London Headquarters, she had gone through the list of army units positioned in the area. With rebel forces threatening from the north, most of the divisions and brigades had been positioned there to protect the borders.

And thus, she was surprised to see a large unit at the mining town.

Blue-purple _Sutherlands_ and _Gloucesters_ were patrolling the skies with occasional _Vincent Wards_ and _Vincents_ and even _Atakasukis. _That was normal considering it was war time.

What wasn't normal was that they should only be a squadron in the entire area, meaning that since each squadron had about fifty to sixty Knightmare there should be about two or three flying at a time in a region. Here there was at least half a dozen Knightmares in the skies and almost twice.

"Was there supposed to be a unit here?" Arthur whispered. Kallen shook her head. "Then what the hell are they doing here?"

A _Gloucester_ suddenly started to follow them.

"They're herding us."

"Stay cool, Rivalz. Just follow their direction."

As the group drove in, armoured Britannian soldiers appeared out of nowhere turned looking at them as if seeing a car for the first time.

"They don't look very friendly." Rivalz commented as one particular soldier glared at the blunette.

"I don't think they like reporters." Milly muttered.

"You're here with me." Kallen assured her. "No one will touch you."

A soldier waved at them and pointed to the town centre. Rivalz waved back in acknowledgement and drove in.

"I smell rebels." Kallen murmured.

"Let's not get into conclusions." Arthur replied. "Although I think for once you might be right."

Kallen ignored the subtle jib and watched as the car drove pass a _Sutherland_ armed with a large cannon.

"We're here." Rivalz announced. "And he doesn't seem very happy to see us." He pointed at the Britannian army officer in a khaki uniform with a short blue cape.

The door suddenly opened and a soldier grabbed Rivalz by the collar and pulled him out.

"Hey!" Kallen struggled against another soldier as the group was forced out.

"What the hell are you kids doing here?" The officer barked. His badge showed that he was a colonel. "This place is off limits."

"I thought that goes for you too." Arthur said as two soldiers grabbed his arm.

The officer snarled and was about to strike him when Kallen barked.

"What the hell is this? I am Kallen Kouzki, Black Knight Commander and your damn Knight of Two."

The officer turned to her and then took a step back.

"Oh...fu...Release them! Release them! Forgive me, my lady." The officer bowed in apology.

Kallen slammed an elbow into her captor knocking the air out of him. She straightened up as the unfortunate soldier gasped for a breather.

"What the hell is going on here, Colonel...?"

"Dante, madam." The officer saluted. "We're here tracking a suspected rebel unit."

Arthur scoffed. "Then why are you so scared to see people here?"

The Colonel looked at the white haired Lelouch in the eye then froze for a brief second although Kallen hardly blamed him.

"You were saying, Colonel?" Kallen probed him.

"Right." The Colonel had shaken himself up and nodded. "Forgive me. We have just taken this town which had been supporting the rebels so as you can understand we are tight on security."

Kallen's eyes narrowed. "If so then why hadn't you reported to headquarters?"

The officer beside the Colonel looked embarrassed. "We weren't sure if they were rebels at first, my lady."

"How long has it been since you've taken it then?" Kallen asked.

"Yesterday. The rebels have fled into the rocks. I doubt they'll be able to do anything about it though. But don't worry, my lady, we have patrols circling around to make sure they don't cause any trouble."

Despite the man's words, she could see in his eyes that the man was hiding something. Damn Britannians...

"Yeah, I can see that. I have no problem with your duty," Kallen replied, sarcastically. "But I do mind your methods. Is this?" She gestured to the troops around. "Anyway to show the people our good will?"

"How is this?" Kallen continued, biting her every word. "Going to show the people that they're not trading one tyrant for another?"

The Colonel cleared his throat. "Sometimes in war, milady, strict measures are needed to show people where they're places ar..."

But Kallen interrupted him. "Such _strict_ measures are going to encourage them to join the rebellion. We are better than this. Remember your place, Colonel. We are the knights of justice. We're not going to the rebels' level. That would be defeating the purpose of this new Britannia...do you understand, Colonel?"

"Yes, milady." The Colonel saluted.

"Now," Kallen said, staring at the other soldiers. "I need to get this car fixed."

"Very good, madam." A captain saluted, signalling the others.

At a different time, Kallen might have been nervous about giving orders but since the Great War and during her time as a Black knight she had learnt the trade even if she still prefer to act on her own. As Zero's personal guard and ace, Kallen was used to fighting alone or at least as part of a small team.

She knew she was a decent tactician and had an excellent ability to improvise on the field and while she knew she was a good strategist she could not comprehend the complex strategies of accomplished commanders like Lelouch or Schneizel or even General Alexandros and Princess Cornelia.

"And Colonel," Kallen continued. "I would like to have one of your maps."

"Yes, milady." The officer nodded though, his relief of escaping the accusation was obvious, well at least to Kallen.

"Impressive." Arthur murmured beside her. "Though why didn't you ask for a guide?"

Kallen shrugged, though she felt her cheeks redden. "I thought you didn't want to catch any unwanted attention, besides there's something wrong here. Telling him that we're not looking for anything meant he won't be too worried about whatever he's hiding."

Arthur stared at her, and then nodded in approval. "Very good. You assumed correctly. Regardless, he'll be on his guard. We have settled on something that was well hidden then."

The white haired Lelouch turned to Milly and Rivalz who were explaining to a soldier about the tires on the car.

"I know." Kallen told him. "I don't want them to be in the mist of this stuff."

"We may not have a choice." The knight replied. "Having them near us would be their best protection from now on."

"Yeah, you're right."

* * *

**Sorry for the sloppy work. I'm losing my touch. I'm glad you guys are still reading this story. So thanks.**


	22. Chapter 7: Into the Shadow of Death

**Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. I was busy with My Queen first then I was extremely busy with my school work as this is my final year. Well, yup. Arthur and Kallen finally meet and now the real drama could begin! ****It was kinda like squeezed up a bit but since I made you guys wait for so long I hoped to give you a longer chpt. :)**  


* * *

**White Cliffs of Dover**

The British Isles are lands that have not been touched by foreign powers for three decades. The former homeland of the Britannians had suffered much hardship since the fall of the British Empire.

The British themselves have had enough of it. Having warred with Romans, Saxons, Europeans and even their Britannian cousins, the average Briton realised that the only one he could trust was himself.

A lone figure stood on top of one cliff. His deep blue cloak danced as the wind passed him though it was barely visible in the night. Underneath the darkness, the golden dragon symbol on the shoulder seemed to come alive under the breeze's bombardment.

A second figure also cloaked approached the first man and stood at his side.

"You actually came." The second figure muttered.

The first figure impatiently waved the comment. "Not without risks. What is it this time?"

The second figure turned to face him. "You know why, B.B.! I told you that this would be a disaster! He has now openly brought out our operations to the world!"

"He has achieved what he was ordered to do, Booth."

"At the cost of revealing what was hidden for centuries! He could undo everything we have done in a single sweep!"

B.B. scoffed. "But in the end, he managed to cover our tracks."

"How could you trust him to lead it? Lelouch vi Britannia! The Demon Emperor! How could he be the heir to the Once and Future King? They've nothing in common."

The gray haired figure gave him a stern look. "I happened to lived through Camelot's rise and fall. Don't you forget that."

Booth cowered at that. "Of course, my lord. But still...to entrust...this...this...project to him. You saw how Lelouch reacted once you showed him the book! He changed completely!"

"Lelouch changed because he knew what he had to do. And if you remember rightly, Booth, it was his decision to be the knight."

"From prince to rebel, then rebel to Emperor and now Emperor to knight...doesn't really sound like anything heard before."

"Reality never is." B.B. turned back to the seas. He took up his phone. "Bedford here. Yes? Proceed. Follow Peregrine. The Emperor must be protected. That Templar stronghold can only be accessed by the Knight-Captain. The data is in his mainframe."

He closed his phone and sighed. "I believe in him. He has Arthur's strength in him."

Booth turned back. "I hope you're right."

* * *

**Tokyo, Japan**

"It is clear now from the raging conflict and death tolls that the Britannian civil war has expanded more than expected."

A tide of murmurs swept across the room.

"It is clear that the Imperial Britannian government cannot control the war. I propose that the country be shut down in accordance with UFN martial law until the rebels have been defeated."

Schneizel stepped forward. "Honourable senators, I must humbly remind the UFN that the presence of more Black knight forces would increase the resistance. The rebel forces are now a threat but they do not represent the people of Britannia."

"Senator Schneizel," A French senator spoke. "It is no secret that the rebels have your armies outgunned and outnumbered. If your government could not afford to protect your own people, then you have no right to defend it."

"Furthermore," A Middle-eastern delegate joined in. "If the rebel forces should control Britannia, the old Empire will return! No one in this room will allow for such a thing to happen."

The former prince shook his head. "The presence of a Black Knight occupation force in Britannia would turn the purists from rebels to liberators in the eyes of the populace. There has been enough distrust between our peoples. The Empress herself has done all she can do hold on to her peaceful ideals."

"I agree." Chairman Kaguya spoke up. "If we sent in our full military to Britannia, the Britannian people would see it as an act of aggression. The troops sent to maintain peace have already been forced to fight the war and that itself has already increased the size of the rebellion. We cannot afford to allow the rebels to gather more strength."

"With all due respect, Chairman," Senator Ryoma said. "It looks from here that the rebels would win anyway. The Empress' close encounters to her own end have already shown this."

The statement caused some uproar from the senators.

"Order!" Xingke as chief enforcer shouted. Xianglin came at his side.

"This doesn't look good." The Chinese aide whispered. "They've already prepared at least 500,000 troops and at least 12,000 knightmares, tanks and support units! They want you to lead it."

"I know." Xingke replied. "Everyone's shouting for blood." He gritted his teeth. "It's not as if the civil wars and terrorist attacks weren't enough."

By now Schneizel spoke again. "I have but my utmost faith in Her Majesty and Lord Zero to end this conflict."

"Zero's name won't hold up for too long." Xianglin murmured. "I can only hope Kouzki and this...Britannian knight can end this quickly."

* * *

**Back in Britannia**

"This should be it." Milly said, lowering her binoculars.

Rivalz raised an eyebrow. "A pile of rocks?"

The blonde woman sighed. "They're supposed to be beautiful. Anyway, there was supposed to be some battle here."

Arthur brushed some dust off his coat. "Yes, between the Britannian army and the Spanish colonial forces."

The white haired Lelouch returned to his binoculars and zoomed in. "This was supposed to be one of the last before Central Britannia was finally completed."

Rivalz grumbled. "There are a lot of caverns and rocks. How the heck are we supposed to find ruins in the middle of that?"

"I don't like the idea about snooping around those caves. No telling what could happen there." Kallen's brows furrowed in frustration.

"Heh, I thought you loved challenges." Arthur scoffed and leapt up to a boulder and walked ahead.

"Yea," Kallen said absently before she realised what he said.

"Eh...What? Look I never said that..." She began following the knight down.

"That doesn't sound very professional." Lelouch's ghost continued. "Not very fitting for a Knight of the Round..."

Kallen snarled as the red knight calmly walked quickly away from the raging woman. "If you're asking for a punch in the gut..."

Rivalz blinked. "You sure that guy's not Lelouch?"

Milly chuckled to herself and shrugged, watching the two bicker on their way down. The white haired Lelouch muttered something which resulted in Kallen shouting after him.

"Well, well, well. Some things never change..."

* * *

**Richmond, Duchy of Virginia**

"Which one of you is Lieutenant Kenneth William Sterling?" Ogami asked.

The six blue and red uniformed officers standing in conversation in the hanger deck's check stations turned to look at him. Alarm flashed across their faces when they realised the man was a Black knight. Ogami had come in with a full squad of Federation Security Service (FSS) soldiers.

A young brown haired Imperial officer stepped forward. "I am."

"We will converse." Ogami said. "Come here."

"Begging your pardon, sir," Sterling replied, "but I'm a little busy now. We are in the middle of an operation here."

The Britannian officer turned back to the conversation comparing data.

"I believe, Kenneth Sterling," Ogami said, "you took my instruction to be optional. It is not. We will converse here now."

Sterling tensed. His fellow officers looked on in concern, as Sterling turned and travelled to the Black knight.

"What?" He was a tall man but had to look up to Ogami's visored face.

"We shall converse, Sterling."

Sterling grunted. "So you keep saying. How about some courtesy, sir? Remove your helmet so I can see your face."

"Why?" Ogami asked.

"Because that's what men do when they converse."

Ogami didn't move for a moment. Then he raised his hands, unlocked his helm straps and took off the helmet. As he tucked it under his arms, long black hair dropped down to his sides. His face was hard and drawn, and his eyes chilled Kenneth Sterling's soul.

"Thank you," Sterling said. "Your name? You seem to know mine."

"Ogami, captain, Federation Security Service."

"Well, Captain Ogami, Federation Security Service, how can I help you this day?"

"You can walk with me for a moment, you can answer my questions, and you can dispense with the verbal sport."

Sterling shrugged. They began to walk along the edge of the observation deck overlooking the knightmare catapults. A _Vincent Ward_ zipped past them.

"This is a busy day for us, Captain," Sterling said. "Get on with it."

"What can you tell me about Arthur Peregrine?"

"Why?"

"Because I heard that you had fought under him at Richmond."

Sterling frowned. "Not much. He is a knight under the Lord of Bedford's paramilitary forces and I was assigned to help communicate with the locals for their strike force."

"You grew up around Richmond?" Ogami asked.

"A born and bred Virginian."

"Why you?"

Sterling shrugged. "They needed someone who knows the area well and my Colonel picked me."

"Then what can you tell me about Peregrine?"

Sterling gave him a look. "The Red Knight? Why are you asking me this?"

"You are only required to answer my questions, Britannian."

Sterling shook his head. "Nothing you probably haven't heard. Never saw his face but he has this very commanding tone and seems to be aware of everything around him."

The two walked pass a pair of chatting crewmen.

"I heard he pulled off a miracle there."

"You can say that again. He took us underground and gave us orders without being around and blew a hole in the ground and threw and entire building on top of two companies! I've been in the military for at least six years and I've never seen anything like it."

"Sounds perhaps like what Emperor Lelouch did in Mt. Fuji?" Ogami said quietly.

"Yea! Like that...wait." Sterling caught himself and turned to look at Ogami closely. "What are you trying to imply?"

The Japanese officer stared back woodenly. "You heard me. What he did was unlike anyone in the military history except for one man..."

Sterling walked up close to the Black knight. "Look here, Captain. Whatever it might be, the Red Knight saved a lot of men that would have died in that siege! And I'm sure you've also heard that he saved Her Majesty's life too at Pendragon. I'm sure that counts in your assessment."

"Of course, Sterling." A new voice spoke and an officer dressed in the purplish-maroon uniform of the Imperial Guard entered. "But what would you say if I tell you that, our Red knight is actually a Demon Loyalist?"

Sterling turned to glare at the newcomer. "Look Guardsman, you and I both know that this war is dragging far too long and we're going to need to need all the help we get. Lelouch loyal or not, he's fighting for us and has sworn loyalty to the Imperial government. That's all that matters."

"And what if he is not?" Ogami asked, revealing a video clip from his wrist computer.

And Sterling could not believe the contents inside it.

* * *

Arthur rubbed a gloved hand over the dusty wall, feeling a solid shape underneath the sand.

"Templars." He muttered at the pointed Red Cross emblem.

"You got to be kidding me. The Knights Templar was just a bunch of legends from history books right?" Rivalz asked, looking at the symbol in fear.

Milly shook her head. "They say that when our forefathers came to the New World...many Templars came with us."

"And rightly too." The former student council president continued. "The French were the ones who started to outlaw them in the first place. My grandfather said they're called the Freemasons now."

Arthur nodded. "Though it doesn't explain what the Templars would be doing in the middle of a desert."

Rivalz glanced behind. "Maybe that's why the soldiers were so tense."

"No one's that worried about security unless you've got something to protect." The white haired Lelouch walked over to a pillar. Kallen followed suit.

They had gotten to the ruins without incident except for Arthur irritating the shit out of her. He was still reserved and quiet as if he saw her as a Black knight spy, which by duty she was and did not seem to believe that she was loyal to Lelouch either. From Lelouch's perspective however, assuming Arthur did not share Lelouch's memory, she could believe that. After all Lelouch had always been wary of others.

She was still unsure of what to think of his identity. Arthur was almost like Lelouch should he have grown up to be a knight rather than an exiled prince. There was a new sense of confidence that he was burdening the weight of the world and would face it with or without an army.

"Hurry up, Rivalz!" Milly shouted Rivalz as he unpacked his camera.

"Alright, Prez. You'll be up in fifteen."

The blond woman winked at Kallen's confused expression. "This place is a landmark. Might as well do some kind of report for a documentary while we're at it."

Kallen shrugged and turned to find Arthur who had somehow climbed up on top of high rubble of neo-roman styled pillars.

_Ok, in this regard he's definitely not like the old Lelouch._ Kallen thought as she followed him. The white haired knight stood up on top of a fallen pillar and scanned the area with his binoculars.

"You're not going to let them snoop around like that?" She asked sitting near him.

"They're not going to do anything that would risk Her Majesty." And he continued watching without another word.

Kallen watched him curiously. He's still just as irritating though.

"You want to ask me a question?" Arthur asked without looking back.

Startled, Kallen quickly thought of what to say. "You said you were Lelouch's knight?"

"I was." He agreed. "Though only in name. Of the things I had to do, it became more than just that. I was more of an Imperial Agent. And you could probably guess that I had to play Emperor at times."

As Arthur being Lelouch or Lelouch being Arthur? Kallen wondered.

"But you're alright with serving the Britannian throne?" The red-haired woman asked, kicking a stone down the rubble.

"Like you told me, Lelouch is different." Arthur answered. At that point Kallen could not argue.

_Why am I telling her this?_ Arthur thought. _But it feels so right to trust her...why? Wasn't she the one who betrayed Lelouch? Then why do I trust her? No. Why do I _want_ to trust her?_

The half-Japanese woman sat near him idly kicking small pebbles revealing her smooth lean legs. Shaking his head at the distraction, Lelouch's knight focused on the ruins.

Many of them were old neo-roman styled buildings that the Britannian nobility were so fond of. It was odd given the area they were in. Many Britannians here were far-less traditional than those in the east. That meant the involvement of the Knight Templars.

"Templars?" Arthur whispered to himself. That was a bit of a problem. The Knights Templar, unlike how Rivalz and Milly would know them as: an ancient order of Christian knights, were actually the name of two very different groups.

One actually belonged to the Geass Directorate or the Geass Church as it was known back then. The priests and knight commanders were normally Geass users until the Catholic Church with the aid of the Arfon knights found out about them and had the order burnt at the stake for heresy.

It was a double-bladed sword as the other group was actually the Arfon Knights themselves since the Knights Templar was actually the real name the Order had been called in medieval times.

By right, Arthur's rank was that of a Knight-Captain within the Templars.

However, they had long since abandoned the name and had taken up the name Arfon knights as the Order was founded by the surviving members of the Knights of the Round Table at Cantref Arfon thousands of years ago.

Legends say that the Knights were created to prevent the Geass from being abused by man. And if that was compromised...wipe Geass off the face of the earth.

"I'm actually quite surprised to see all of this here." Kallen muttered. "I never noticed any of this because of the war."

Arthur lowered his binoculars and sat down as well. "I'd be surprised if you did. From the way the ruins are left, there was someone here playing with all of this."

Kallen turned to look at him. "You mean this place was deliberately hidden from outsiders?"

The knight nodded. "There are traces here that suggested there have been people here."

The red-haired woman gritted her teeth. "Those sneaky bastards! When I get my hands on Dante I'm going to tear him apart!"

Arthur grinned slightly. "You'll probably get your chance soon enough. I doubt he's going to stand still after this. Which may mean trouble later..."

He paused.

"Something's wrong." Arthur whispered catching her off guard. Lelouch's Ghost glared into the open space.

Kallen tried to listen for the same sound.

"And yours truly, Milly Ashford."

"And cut!" Rivalz stopped the camera. "That's good. We can put it up on BNN later." He grinned. "With these live images, it'll be a blast!"

"Watch out!"

"They better!"

"No, you idiot! Get out of the way!" Kallen shouted and tackled him away as the building behind him exploded.

At once, a torrent of gun fire rained down on them.

"Shit!" Kallen pulled out her pistol and fired back while pulling Rivalz to cover. Arthur leapt down firing two rounds as he led Milly to Rivalz.

The blond woman sighed. "I guess it's too good to be true..."

A bullet ricocheted from the broken pillar they were taking shelter from. Arthur brought his pistol out and fired two shots which were followed by a grunt of pain.

"That sound!" Kallen shouted.

"A guy screaming in pain!" Rivalz shouted, closing his ears. "I know right?"

"No! Not that! The gun fire. Those aren't AR-28s!"

Arthur fired another two shots.

"They're not." He agreed. "They're using old Springfields." A bullet whistled past his ear. "Not that it gives us anything to celebrate."

He was right. The Springfield S7-assault rifles were longer and heavier than the current issued AR-28s. They were used back during the Japanese invasion where infantry still played a prominent role. Since Knightmares had become the more dominant force in the battlefield, the rifles were shortened to the AR-28s and other submachine guns for foot soldiers to face in close-quarter combat.

Since then the Britannian army has kept a smaller though still numerous and skilled infantry force armed and armoured with the latest technological advancements.

Whoever their attackers were, they were certainly not Britannian Regulars. The soldiers Kallen saw wore khaki flak vests and peaked caps instead of the usual combat armour.

They swarmed all over the ruins in the dozens.

"We can't win this." Arthur shouted. "Head to that building!" He gestured at the larger structure that was directly left towards them.  
Kallen nodded and leapt out. She landed right in front of a couple of troopers. To her pleasure, the soldiers were too startled to react quickly and

Kallen fired two shots into their chests. The pistol rounds were not powerful enough to pierce through their vests but it was enough to knock them both down.

A third soldier appeared and unleashed a barrage of super-sonic rounds that scraped through the sand leaving clouds of dust in their wake.

She turned and pressed the trigger blowing a hole in the man's shoulder. The soldier screamed in pain dropping his weapon allowing Kallen to fire another round into his chest.

Pushing herself up, she leapt up and began to run towards the advancing soldiers.

She charged into a soldier with a side kick in his chest sending the man flying back. He fell and hit his head hard against the ground.

A female officer appeared with a long pony tail appeared and aimed down a nasty looking shotgun.

"Shit!" Kallen cursed as the cluster bullets rained pass her. One scrapped her arm but she shook the pain away and focused on the woman who fired. The officer cocked her weapon and fired another round with practiced calmness.

The clustered bullets came close to ripping Kallen to shreds if she hadn't dropped flat to the ground subsequently getting her elbow injured by a buried piece of brick. Ignoring her bruised elbow, she brought her pistol out and fired a couple of rounds at the woman which all went wide.

The female officer advanced upon her from her blind side but before she could get close her right shoulder exploded in a mist of blood.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Kallen turned and kicked the shrieking woman in the chin knocking her down.

"Hurry!" She saw Lelouch waving his black and gold pistol at her from the entrance of the ruined temple.

Abandoning all of the flying bullets around her, Kallen ran with all her might. Arthur continued to provide her covering fire as the Black knight captain jumped over rocks and debris and gun fire to reach the temple.

One soldier stepped up to a ruin and aimed down with a scoped rifle. Kallen did not see him and continued to run towards the temple.

Arthur saw the man and cursed. He continued to try and fire at the sniper but the man was simply too far away.

Deciding that he had to do something quickly, Arthur took the risk that may entirely expose who he truly was.

He blocked the view the half-Japanese woman might see of his face and glared hard at the sniper.

_Look at me and despair!_

The sniper was calmly aiming when he caught sight of two glowing blue eyes. Startled, the soldier missed his target by an inch.

Arthur nodded in grim satisfaction and fired at the closed chasing soldier.

"Get ready to jump forward!" He shouted at Kallen who was too busy running for her life. He gathered three small but deadly spherical grenades in his hand. He waited for her to get close.

Closer. Closer. Now!

He hurled the grenades just nicely over Kallen's head and towards the soldiers.

"Come on!" He shouted and spread his arms to her. Running in full speed, Kallen slammed right into his chest sending both into the temple as the ground behind them exploded.

It was nicely timed and the roof of the temple entrance crashed down, blocking the entrance, naturally.

"Well, there goes our way out." Milly muttered.

Rivalz smacked himself in the head. "Oh, don't tell me this place is some cursed ruins that no one is supposed to trespass and are filled with zombies."

"Relax, Rivalz." Milly assured him. "This isn't science-fiction."

Arthur grunted as he tried to pull himself together. "Well, at least it would still take some time before they can get through that."

He looked down at Kallen who was still huddling on top of him.

"Any bones broken?" He asked as the woman groaned in response. The knight blinked as he felt her chest pressing against his own and felt his cheeks burning up.

Kallen shook her head and sat up and for a moment Arthur could not think of anything except her deep blue eyes that contrasted with her fiery red hair.

The half-Britannian woman met his gaze and her face reddened in response to it.

Arthur felt a sudden familiarity to it. Somehow, even though he had just met her but a few days ago it felt like he had known her for years, sharing the same hardships, shed blood and endured pain together as comrades, as friends...and maybe something even more...

To Kallen, it felt the same way when she had literally fallen on Lelouch back in the Chinese Federation before the kidnapping attempt on the Empress where they had stared at one another with that single moment belonging to them and only them alone.

Lelouch...She could feel her eyes growing teary.

Arthur's eyes widened momentarily as if remembering something then his face hardened again resuming the cold mask.

"Good. Now we must hurry." He gently pulled himself from her arms as Kallen fought the urge to hold on to him. She wanted to cry out to him to tell him to stop acting and explain to her why he had done what he did.

He brushed himself up from the dust and offered his hand. As Kallen cleaned the dirt of her shirt, shouting and grunting came from the barrier.

"We'd better not be here when they've finished cleaning this place."

"Hey, Le...I mean Arthur do we really need to go down there?" Rivalz asked shivering.

"Either that or fight through an entire regiment with sticks and stones." Arthur said, taking a flash light from Milly who had amazingly brought four of them in her bag.

Seeing his face, the former student council president winked. "It's always good to be prepared."

Arthur couldn't resist the urge to grin and shook his head.

Kallen snatched the flashlight from Rivalz and shoved pass Arthur. "Come on. We don't have all day." She growled suddenly.

Arthur looked at her confused and followed her. "Be careful. There's no telling what's in here."

Kallen just scoffed in reply and walked even faster.

* * *

**Ohio**

Sun rays gleamed on the golden parts of the ebony Knightmare that stood at the head of massed Imperial air ships.

Loyalist air cavalry patiently floated along their sides while on the ground, tanks and other ground based knightmares stood waiting to charge at a single command.

They faced a large town that was filled with knightmares and tanks bearing the orange flame of the House of Bradley.

These were the survivors with much of their unit having fallen in the battle that had occurred in the middle of the night.

"There is no need to fight on." Zero's voice came from the dark knightmare.

_"We will never surrender you bastards!"_ Returned the answer. _"The Empire will rise again! The Empress and those damn black knights will soon be lying in the dirt!"_

Gino sighed. "These guys won't quit would they."

"It appears not." Zero agreed. "However, if you are willing to fight on then at least release the innocents that are trapped in this battle ground."

A mocking laugh returned from the _Gloucester_ that floated on top of a skyscraper surrounded by _Sutherlands_ that were covered with explosives.  
Suzaku shook his head. "I was afraid you'd say that..."

Before anyone knew it, the knightmare had flashed pass them and knocked the rebel leader's torso off with a slash of his sword. Zero hovered above the surprised rebels.

His emerald eyes glared and the _Lancelot Rei_'s wings flared open and a torrent of energy beams struck the _Sutherlands_ with precise accuracy taking out cockpits and chest plates without igniting the mines that they protected.

Imperial snipers fired at the same time eliminating those that attempted to detonate the explosives.

The crippled _Gloucester_ desperately tried to initiate the blast by attempting to self-destruct, but the former knight saw it early and had flung a sword down into the cockpit pinning the noble inside nicely from reaching out to the controls.

"Get those explosives off now!" Gino cried as the army surged forward, taking down rebel forces and preventing them from blowing up the town.

Zero took the moment to land near the enemy _Gloucester_ and approached the wounded rebel in the cockpit. The master-vibration sword had taken the man's arm off and the noble dying from blood loss.

Surprisingly, the noble was a young boy barely a teenager.

Suzaku knelt by his side.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked calmly. The boy glared but instead of the usual curses that many nobles gave, this one said nothing.

"You were Geassed weren't you?" Suzaku muttered sadly knowing that death was the only cure for him. Taking his pistol, he put the boy out of his misery.

Behind the mask, Suzaku watched as Gino and the rest of the army secured the town. This had been the eighth rebel he had discovered to be an unwilling pawn of Geass. And there were many evidences that proved that this. But who was the user was the great question.

This Geass was a command given one and thus could easily be led to one man. With the recent events that had occurred already, it was likely that that man was still alive...

Though he loathed admitting it, Suzaku knew that was what he wanted to think. Making it look like Lelouch's old messes made things much simpler than what it was more likely appearing.

Even the dead Emperor would not go as far as this new enemy was going.

Thus, Suzaku realised that he needed to find out from someone who knows more about Geass than anyone else...

* * *

**Back in the Ruins**

The place was clearly of Templar origin with highly ruined but still clear pictures and statues of the red-crossed knights.

The walls were clearly painted with the deeds and battles of the Order. At times, Kallen could not help but wonder what these enigmatic holy warriors were really part of. She wondered if there was a connection between the Geass attackers and this place. Clearly they had stumbled upon a desperately hidden secret.

If Arthur had any knowledge of this, he never said anything of it. He had become cold to her again and wondered if she had offended him. Lelouch never seemed to be affected by anything save it concerned Nunnally or his plans.

Perhaps he did know that he was Lelouch but was just trying to hide it from her.

This is just really irritating. Kallen thought.

Milly was happily taking record of the contents while Rivalz was still whining about how they would be stuck forever.

It was unlikely that they would be. Especially since the barrier that Arthur made was very fragile. The worse case was being killed by the soldiers.

Before long, they settled on a crossroad with two tunnels.

"It'll be a while." Arthur told them. "From this old map," He pointed at a badly preserved portrait on the wall. "They'll lead into a religious chamber," indicating the cross symbol on the map.

He scoffed. "Too bad they didn't say anything about what's on the paths."

The red knight drew out his gold and black pistol and checked the rounds. Kallen did the same and pulled out her old Japanese model and ejected the magazine.

There were five rounds left and she exchanged it with another magazine and slammed another round in place.

Arthur did the same and nodded. "We'll need to split up. Those soldiers will be following us. That way we'll at least be able to split them up and lose them in the channels.

"Rivalz and I will take this one, you girls take the other."

Kallen wanted to go with him but she knew that it was necessary as they needed to protect Rivalz and Milly.

"Alright!" Rivalz said brightening up. "It'll be like old times!" He suddenly slapped Arthur's back and walked right into the corridor, startling both him and Kallen knowing fully that he was almost untouchable.

Arthur stared at him then shrugged with a grin and followed.

"Come on, Kallen." Milly nudged a half frozen Kallen who had barely recovered. Did he just acknowledge Rivalz calling him Lelouch?

But she shook herself from the shock and focused on the task at hand. With her pistol at the ready, she followed.

There was far more room than it seemed as the two women were dwarfed in the passageway and from the little illumination the flashlights gave it was clear that it was done on purpose.

"I think this has to be the main hallway." Kallen said.

The blond woman nodded. "Yeah, from the size of it must allow dozens of people to go through. This place might have been a cathedral."

That only meant that they were close to whatever they were looking for.

Both did not speak for a time as the two continued their way through the terrible darkness.

"So..." Milly started, breaking the silence. "You seem to be acting strange."

"Why do you say that?"

"For one, you seemed to be more like your usual self. All feisty and snarling." The reporter laughed.

Kallen was suddenly glad of the darkness as her face reddened with embarrassment.

"Not at a..." Milly's flashlight suddenly shined at her face.

"Haha, you're blushing!" Milly gave her an evil grin.

"No! Something's wrong with your eyes!" Kallen quickly moved out of the light.

The older woman laughed and shook her head. "Is it because of that tiny little possibility?"

Kallen frowned and sulked in the dark.

Chuckling, Milly put an arm around her shoulder.

"I miss him too you know."

* * *

**Formosa, United States of China**

"Move along men." A sergeant shouted at a group of soldiers in black and green body armour marching.

Behind them a unit of massive French battle tanks rolled down and formed a battle line in the square and Senator Ryoma could feel the ground rumble under his feet.

The Japanese politician then suddenly felt his hair bellowing as a full flight of _Akatsuki _knightmare frames zoomed above him.

The island has long been used for defence by the Chinese Federation especially when the Britannian armies had been spread around.

But now in the eyes of Ryoma, the port was massed with troops from over twenty different countries.

A large plump man in a dark green uniform marched along side a company of men in full attention inspecting each man's weapon. He was General Shin Fai, formerly a leader of the Chinese Federation Army best known for his infantry tactics that allowed him to overrun much of Southeast Asia during their uprisings.

Shin Fai was obvious to the gaze and barked a laugh and continued with the troopers. Ryoma continued his tour with his FSS guards.

The tall thin Japanese man made his way through to the knightmare hanger. He jumped as a loud crash echoed in hanger.

Two tall dark blue knightmares slammed their swords into each other, sparks shot out as the revolving blades clashed. They separate then clash blades again and again.

A loud voice shouted in Japanese as the two _Akatsuki Commander Models_ paused and listened.

Lt. General Shinzo Nagumo gestured from the top of the tower as he instructed the men in their swordplay. The Japanese knightmare commander caught Ryoma's gaze as the knightmare officers continued to train and nodded.

"Sir?" One of his FSS bodyguards asked.

"Nothing, Lieutenant." Ryoma replied and moved on to the docks. The combined fleets of China, Japan, France, Spain and Russia stood afloat. The night roared with explosions as the gunnery crews drilled day and night.

The Senator and his men stopped by the lead flagship _**Ikaruga II**_ where a trio of black uniformed officers stood in discussion with a tall bald man in a dark blue EU uniform.

Admiral Henri Dupere, formerly the Fleet commander of the European Maritime Force now the Admiral of the Fleet for the Order of the Black Knights.

"You're here rather early, Senator." Dupere muttered without looking up from the datapad he was looking at. His deep French accent betrayed his ethnicity.

"Just here to see the progress, Admiral." Ryoma replied.

The Frenchman chuckled. "Well, you'll see that our progress is to your liking."

Ryoma watched the fleet's bombardment first, and then turned to the duelling knightmares and finally the marching infantrymen.

The Japanese senator grinned. "It's really impressive, Admiral...Impressive indeed."

* * *

Arthur and Rivalz had somehow ended up in a store room of sorts.

"Whoa, looks like we hit the jackpot." Rivalz exclaimed in glee.

"I doubt that term would be appropriate for us. Be careful. There's no telling what's down here."

Rivalz swallowed hard. "You'll be around here right?"

Arthur nodded and began walking around.

When blue haired man was finally out of view, Arthur sighed and pulled out the box Lelouch sent him.

_"A Geass relic here? In the hands of the Templar?"_ Arthur wondered.

It was supposed to represent something old England though at least that's what Lelouch said. The first had been the Mace of Mercia or rather known as the Jewelled Mace of Offering. It had been wielded by the Kings of old Britain. The Mace left behind in London during Napoleon's invasion but was somehow stolen, likely by Britannian agents and taken to the New World so that the new _pretenders_ would never get it.

The red knight saw that more than half the things in the place were made up of medieval trinkets.

He sighed. "It's going to be a long day..." Unfortunately they're not going to have that amount of time.

He checked the box again.

All it showed was an image of a scarlet cross on a white shield with a prancing lion behind it.

Arthur flashed the light past a pile of brass of cups and a Templar shield. He held it for a moment taking a good look at it and mentally comparing it with the image Lelouch gave.

"I'm wasting my time..." He murmured and dropped the shield.

"Hey, look at this picture." Rivalz called.

Lelouch's Ghost turned and saw his former liege's school friend staring at a portrait. He shined his torchlight at it and jumped.

It was a painting of a young blond haired knight in full jet black armour killing a great wicked looking bird.

More specifically the knight was actually Prince Arthur himself and the bird was...

"Quite a sight huh?" Rivalz continued as if nothing had happened. "It just seemed to stand out from the other stuff since you mentioned this was a Templar place."

Arthur nodded and just stared at the man.

He could suddenly see the fire burning in the painting, a child crying over his dead mother, ranks of knights smashing into each other...A great explosion awoke in their midst.

A great sea of robed figures kneeled over an avian like altar and the leader's eyes glowed with crimson. Suddenly a golden dragon appeared from the foreground and engulfed the cultists with flame.

"Uh...dude?" Rivalz waved at him and realised how much the black knight in the painting resembled Lelouch save for the slightly heavier built. In fact, he almost looked like an exact copy of the man standing right in front of him.

Arthur shook his head. "My apologies." He took a deep breath and spoke again. "We need to hurry."

He made his way towards door deep down the room where it was surprisingly unlocked.

"Looks like this is the passage to that chamber." Rivalz said happily as he gazed into it and started to take a step when Arthur grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait." He took a small statue from a pile and threw it across the opening. Before their eyes, a torrent of arrows fired from the sides.

"That would be so cliché if it wasn't so real." Rivalz muttered. "So what do we do?"

"Well, unlike your movies, these medieval engineers wouldn't have been so smart." Arthur took another junk from the pile and hurled it again this time. Nothing happened as it landed to the side near the walls.

Arthur calmly walked near the wall with Rivalz glancing frightfully at the arrow holes.

"That's just the first trap." He told Rivalz who was just beginning to sigh in relief.

It took fifteen minutes to get pass two more traps with a surprise one later near the door which was a large blade that almost took their heads off.

"That was interesting." Arthur grinned at Rivalz who looked as if he was going to faint.

Rivalz shook his head as he followed the red knight. "Man! It really is like old times...he's always trying to scare me..."

The two young men made it into the chamber. Arthur was right. It looked like a mass hall like the one at Ashford though this was clearly one for religious purposes especially with the altar. Behind were five different Templar shields revealed by Arthur's torch.

Just then, Kallen and Milly appeared from another side.

"Took you long enough." Kallen muttered. Her clothes were rather dustier than usual.

"What happened to you?" Rivalz asked.

Milly laughed. "She fell into a pit of quick sand if you can believe it." Kallen muttered a curse as she poured sand out of her shoe.

"Ha! We were almost sent to heaven without our heads!" Rivalz put a finger across his neck.

Arthur chuckled at the scene. Despite the life threatened situation they were all in, they laughed at it as if nothing had happened. He walked towards the red haired woman who was still brushing all the sand from her.

"Take off your jacket." He told her. Kallen obeyed and Arthur tried not to look at her hourglass shaped body. He brushed it hard twice rather loudly.  
Before Kallen could say anything, a small scorpion dropped from it.

"You're welcome." Arthur said and left the scowling Kallen to the centre of the room.

"Since this is a religious temple, this should be the centre of the whole structure." The red knight announced.

"That means we just need to find another exit."

Milly looked around. "But since we're here. I'd like to take a few shots around." She glanced at Arthur who shrugged.

"Keep an eye out for a map though." Arthur said and they fanned out the place.

He at once went to the altar and the five shields taking out Lelouch's box and pretending that he was scanning for something. He tried to make sense of the message.

A shield representing England huh?

The first Templar shield was an uneven cross like those worn by the first crusaders. That was unlikely Arthur knew as it had little link to Geass. The second one had a golden shield in the centre with the three lions of England in it. It was a likely choice but too obvious.

The third was the new Templar cross with a black and white rampart. The fourth was an odd shield where the cross was designed to look like a sword.

The final one was a shield with a black background. It looked like something that Edward the Black Prince would have worn.

So which one is it? Arthur tried to think. He moved away from the shields to make it less obvious that he was studying them so intently.

He turned to a wall and looked at a portrait containing a uniformed Templar from the 18th century in a white and red coat.

_So this place is only a few centuries old?_ That means that the relic would likely be here.

Although she's impulsive, she was far from a fool. Kallen knew that there was far more than met the eye. For one, Arthur or Lelouch was here for something. He likely knew the way out or at least suspected a way but was delaying it.

_Geass_. _It had to be it._ Kallen told herself. Hooded assassins, massive rebel armies, ancient legends and old temples...of course it would have to be Geass.

However, Kallen was also aware that the only way she would find out about this was only if Arthur told her himself and to do that she needed to gain his trust. She tried to look for anything that might be related to Geass or something. Perhaps it was an artefact?

Like that one that the old Eunuch used on Ashford on Lelouch's birthday. It was most likely it. She also started to fan out the place and kept her eyes peeled. It was dark and they often had to be careful not to trip or bump into anything.

_This is taking too long..._Arthur thought. He couldn't hide the fact that he was here looking for the relic without alerting the others. They were Lelouch's friends and that Kouzki seemed to be rather honest about her relationship with him too. Perhaps he should...

"Hey, guys. Stop moving." Milly suddenly announced.

"What?"

"You heard me. Just stop and listen carefully." They did.

"I can't hear anything." Rivalz grumbled.

"Wait, I hear it too." Arthur whispered. "Rumbling. Low and consistent. Machinery!"

"Where is it coming from?" Kallen asked.

Arthur flashed his light towards the direction of the sound he heard and pressed his ear against the walls. He slowly made his way across to hear the sound.

Milly grinned the scene. "There's gotta be a door or something. Start looking around everyone! Wow, this is as almost as exciting as the festivals at school!"

Kallen and Rivalz snickered knowing that was an understatement. However, the only door they could find was locked. Rivalz proposed blowing it up but Arthur countered that it could attract unwanted attention.

"Whoever they are, they're not supposed here."

"Neither are we." Rivalz grumbled.

"We have the Knight of Two herself here to vouch for us." Arthur said it with a half smile causing Kallen to roll her eyes.

A loud boom echoed from the entrance.

"Shit!" Arthur shouted. "Company!" He pulled out his pistol and kicked one of the benches down as a make shift barricade.

Seconds later armed soldiers entered with guns blazing. Kallen and her companions dove for cover as she pulled out her pistol. Arthur was already returning fire and a shot took one of the attackers in the chest.

The Knight of Two leapt out of her cover and fired on two of the soldiers but their gun fire was far too hot for her to stay in one place so she was forced to go down beside a bench for cover.

The wooden benches splintered as automatic rounds peppered them. She saw Arthur who had gotten behind a pillar then calmly came out and shot one of their adversaries. He lobbed one of his small grenades down the other path which Kallen and Milly had entered. A cry of pain came as it exploded.

Despite their successes, they were outnumbered and were too lightly armed to take on such men in combat gears.

Before they knew it, a grenade fell down towards them and exploded stunning them with smoke and pieces debris.

As Kallen struggled to regain her vision, a soldier swung his rifle at her. She managed to dodge the blow and returned by punching the man in the face.

"Don't move!" A strong female voice shouted and she aimed a combat shotgun right at Kallen's face.

However, Arthur's pistol shot knocked the weapon out of her hand and the red haired woman used the time to give the other woman an upper cut.

But the female officer was made of sterner stuff and recovered quickly enough to block Kallen's next blow. She returned a punch into Kallen's chest even as the Black knight dove her foot into the woman's stomach.

"Surrender! Or your friend will die!" Another voice shouted and a soldier held his grenade launcher at Milly's position even as Kallen re-aimed her pistol into the face of a dark skinned soldier.

The female officer gotten to her feet and pressed her pistol right at Kallen's forehead.

"Who the hell are you people?" Kallen snarled.

"I could ask you the same thing." The officer snarled back, her arm bloodied from the earlier skirmish. "You come in wounding half-a dozen of my men and almost blowing the hell out of us."

"They're Dante's scouts!" A young male voice shouted. "Let's just kill them here and now!"

"Dante! We're not that asshole's dogs!"

The female officer scoffed. "Like hell. First you take our mining equipments away, and then you took our families. So what now? You want to kill the rest of us like dogs is it?"

"We're the Empress' agents." Arthur replied. "We're here to investigate what's happening here."

"That's right. My name is Capt...LLady Kallen Kouzki, Knight of Two and a commander of the Black knights."

A soldier scoffed. "Yeah, and I'm Lord Zero."

Arthur turned to the man. "If she isn't, try and see what'll happen if you press that trigger on her head. You'll make enemies out of both the rebels and the Crown."

That made the soldiers pause.

"And the Empress would _never_ order such a thing to be done to her people and go unpunished."

"Ha! And you two are going to hunt them down?" The soldiers laughed.

Arthur walked into the light of their torches and stared into their eyes.

"Of course." The soldiers gaped at the face of the man they were facing and the piercing eyes that he held.

"Uh...Captain Valois. I think they're telling the truth."

"Shut up!" Valois snarled, lowering her weapon and signalling the others to do so. "I'm still not going to trust a damn Round Table. You people promised freedom then left us in the hands of those noble born bastards. Especially a former Eleven Knight."

"We're doing our best." Kallen protested anger flaring from the racist insult. "And what? Look who's talking. You're the ones being hunted down because of your not of _pure_ breed."

Kallen knew that she shouldn't be trying to provoke them but she was too angry and couldn't stop herself. "Geez, so Britannians don't appreciate what we're doing for them after all the innocents you murdered and all the humiliation you put on others. Thanks. And that's coming from people who so worshiped Camelot and its foundations. What an irony..."

"Say anymore, bitch and I'll blow your pretty little head off."

"Come on then. Do it." Kallen stepped up to face Valois. The soldiers suddenly raised their weapons again seeing their officer threatened.

It was Milly however who intervened before things could go out of hand. "We could really do this all day but unfortunately none of us do. So could we please get on with it?"

The two women stared at each other as if going to come to blows but before they could, Arthur suddenly spoke.

"What's this?" He asked, leaning down and picking up a piece of cloth. He shone it with his torch and revealed to be a cotton blue cloth.

"Wait! Let me see that!" Valois leapt to Arthur forgetting her quarrel with Kallen. The red knight handed it to the female officer.

The woman studied it for a while. "This belongs to someone from our town, Fallon." She said softly.

"What exactly has been happening here?" Lelouch's ghost asked gently.

"People from our town had been disappearing for some time already. Since the war started. At first we thought they were all just coincidences but they started to disappear in the dozens and even the hundreds."

"Maybe they volunteered?" Rivalz asked. "As in press ganged?"

Kallen grimaced. "Her Majesty decreed that one the only ones who should fight are those who are willing to." Kallen was surprised that she sounded more like a Britannian knight than her usual self when she said it. Arthur saw it and grinned at her reaction.

"But that means the rebels are here..." Arthur said, rubbing his chin. "And they're purists; they'd rather burn themselves than recruit other ethnics."

All the soldiers had a variety of skin tones and facial features that was obvious even in the darkness.

"That's why we've decided to fight for our own." A tall sergeant said. "We've been searching the desert for months already."

Kallen nodded, remembering her time as a freedom fighter. "And you ran into Dante?"

The huge man's eyes were filled with hate. "He told us that we're acting in treason against the Empress by carrying arms. He already came earlier taking away all the mining equipment we had, saying it for the Empress' Army. Then everyone started to disappear."

"Could you find any trace of them?"

"No."

Milly stared up at the temple. "Then they're probably here. No one could survive in the desert with that many people."

Valois said, grimly. "We thought that was the case but we've run into Dante's forces several times here and that's why we attacked."

"They have Knightmares." Rivalz pointed out.

"Yeah, we know," Valois said grudgingly. "And military class ones too. But hell will freeze before we let this town die."

"Well, now that's been clear, shall we start trying to save a few hundred people?" Milly asked, cheerfully.

Arthur nodded. "We're going to need to go deeper. Open that door." He pointed at the end of the hall.

A bespectacled soldier grinned at him. "With pleasure!"

* * *

"Gino, take the men back to the base and wait there for my command."

_"Sure thing, Zero. But where are you going?"_ The Knight of Three asked.

"I want to look into some matters here." Suzaku replied.

_"At least, take a unit with you or let me come along. If anything happens to you, the world's going to sink back to the abyss."_

Despite himself, Suzaku appreciated his old comrade's concern.

"I can take care of myself. Protect the men."

_"True that. Alright. Take care."_

With that Suzaku terminated the communication. He took the _Lancelot Rei_ out of formation from the Imperial Task Force.

With all communication gone, the Japanese knight took off the mask and leaned against the chair.

He took a moment to look at the Zero helmet.

"The mask is still heavy." Suzaku murmured. But he had known that since he agreed to the Zero Requiem. Still, he admired the will that Lelouch had to be able to do what he had done. He still did not entirely agree to all of it but Suzaku had learnt to accept them when he became the Knight of Zero.

But to actually do some of the methods was definitely another thing. To maintain spy networks, contacts, military organisations, training, deploying them, relationships with the other nations it was like another world for the Japanese knight.

He was actually fortunate as Nunnally was the one taking the full brunt of the nation's welfare. Despite the ongoing war, she had constantly made speeches of peace to her soldiers which greatly contrasted with the blood thirsty war mongers of the rebel leaders.

If this war was just an ordinary uprising, the second Zero doubted that there might be a war at all. However, like all true wars things were never simple and he must make sure it doesn't destroy this new fragile world that both Lelouch and many other bled and died for.

The _Lancelot Rei_ s dispersed a group of clouds and studied the forested area that he had arrived.

It was a place that he had not thought to ever visit.

Suzaku landed his knightmare neatly at what seemed to be a random region in the forest.

He got out of the machine and jumped down walking straight towards no particular direction.

The Japanese knight continued on without regarding his surroundings. He did not look around. He did not even bother to wear his helmet.

Then he stopped.

"So this is the witch's cottage?" Suzaku spoke.

"At least it's near a town that makes good pizza." A female voice returned.

A young woman with long green hair appeared in front of him.

"Lord Zero," C.C. spoke. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

* * *

They managed to go down to the lowest level without incident and disturbingly without a trace of enemies. The soldiers were tolerable. They were certainly not happy about working with Arthur and Kallen especially with the fact that they had shot them and whom Arthur represented, but did nothing of it.

The stairs were damp and the place was just as dark. It felt like they were walking down a black-hole that they could never return from. At least, there were now about a dozen or so all together and made that made searching much easier. While Arthur understood that their presence would ultimately help his group, his own duty would be hindered because of it. He still needed to find the relic, whatever it was.

Though that problem would likely be solved too when they found the survivors. Whatever the relic was though, it was beyond doubt a powerful item.

"Wait." Arthur stopped and pointed to the door in front. Two soldiers moved in front and flanked the door. Val

Valois gestured and nodded.

"Breaching." With that, one of the soldiers kicked the door open and stormed in.

They did not fire but gasped instead.

Confused, the rest barged in and saw the source of confusion.

Rows and rows of sarcophaguses filled their view. There were dozens...no...Hundreds of them...spread through the entire chamber.

"By the gods..." A soldier muttered. "What have we gotten ourselves into here?"

"Quiet!" Valois said angrily. "Spread out and search. Be careful."

Arthur said nothing and walked cautiously among them. He took each step carefully and looked up to see the avian symbol of the Geass order.

Suddenly his head was in pain. It felt as if his brains were going to come inside out.

The knight tried to shake it off but the headache became..._worse and worse._

_Lelouch struggled to stay on his feet and had to brace himself against the pain._

_"Arthur?"_ _Launcelot asked, worried._

_"Arthur?_ Are you alright?" Kallen's worried expression filled his view.

Arthur shook his head and raised a hand. "I'm alright. Let's keep moving."

They headed down the corridor. _Lelouch walked on with his comrades silently aware that they had no idea what they were going to face down here. He did not like that. The prince had always preferred to know his enemy and what he was going to face and disliked going into the unknown that would risk his men._

_Regardless, Lelouch and his knights made their way through though Launcelot kept a close watch on his friend and prince._

_"By the Gods what is this place?"A knight muttered, gripping his sword..._rifle with both hands.

"I'm not sure." Captain Valois replied. "Keep an extra eye out for it in case."

The soldier pressed his rifle closer. Arthur blinked, telling himself what he had been hearing and seeing was due to the terrible darkness.

The place seemed to be rumbling. A strange rumbling. He could not stop it. It was hard because there was little light in the room. Arthur took deep controlled breaths. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Slowly, he managed to control the pain rather than letting it control him. It was then Arthur realised that the rumbling was not his imagination. There was a low rumble.

No not a rumble but murmurs. Words...complete words...

"No..." Arthur muttered and dashed forward with urgency.

"Arthur!" Kallen called after him and they all chased after him as the red knight.

_"Where are you going?"_

Arthur did not stop until he found the split of light that directed to the source of the words. _Lelouch knew that he had to find out if what he was hearing was true._

He found and he was right...

It was like as if they had entered into another world completely. Where the outside was made up of sands and rocks with darkness and death...here was brightness and full of life.

Before him down below was a sea of jewelled white robed figures all kneeling down to a man dressed like a priest in ebony robes on a platform.

_It was where the murmurs were coming from. It was a prayer...the words were known to him._

_Launcelot arrived at his side. The white knight's face went pale as he stared at the scene of the robed figures. The black robed man raised his hands in a chorus and the worshippers mimicked the movement._

"What the hell is happening here?" Valois muttered as she and the rest stared at the scene.

Kallen had thought that the Geass operators were here but she did not in any way imagine it to be like this. This was far from a small terrorist like cell. It was a full professional organisation. Aside from the worshippers, there were men and women in uniforms moving about in great motion.

She looked up and saw on a balcony, two figures, one in the same robes as the others while the other was in a Britannian officer's uniform.

The officer saw her and Kallen recognised him.

"That's Robert Lambert! The bastard who took over Iowa." Lambert seemed to be startled and quickly turned his companion who turned slowly at them.

The priest laughed. "Well, well. What do we have here?"

"What the hell? It's those meddling commoners from Fallon. How did they get in here?" The young nobleman demanded.

"They're new recruits!" The priest announced and projected his voice. "Greetings, brothers and sisters! You have joined us in good timing. We have just initiated several dozens of new novices to our grand order!"

"Like hell." Kallen muttered.

Valois turned to look at the worshippers and shouted. "So is this what you have done to our people? Where are they? Where have you taken them?"

She called to the young woman with brown hair. The girl did not respond to her at all but continued to look to the priest on the platform.

Her eyes were tingled with red rings.

In fact all of them had the same blank look with crimson rings in their eyes. Other soldiers tried with no avail to call them.

"What have you done with them you bastard!" Valois demanded pointing her gun at the duo. This prompted a dozen of black uniformed soldiers with red goggles to appear from all over the rooms.

They were the same troopers Kallen saw during the assassination attempt on Nunnally.

"Me? Don't be absurd, my dear. I have done nothing. It is _they_ who seek _us_. You should consider joining us yourselves!"

Kallen stood up. "For the impressments of innocent civilians into military forces, I order you to cease all operation in the name of the Empress!

"Like I'd take an order from a filthy number even if I were serving that little bitch!" Robert resorted.

The priest sighed in what seemed to be deep disappointment. "Then I am sorry, children. But you must be removed. Lord Lambert, could you please send them to the lower deck?"

The young nobleman asked. "At the point of a bayonet, Ghull?"

"With it in their hearts." The priest added viciously and disappeared.

Robert grinned and drew his sword. "With pleasure!" He waved the blade and pointed at the group.

"MOVE IT!" Kallen shouted as their position came under fire. A grenade shell was launched and struck the tip of the door collapsing their only exit.

"That's bad." Rivalz muttered as he was dragged away by Milly and another soldier.

"We need to get to cover!" Arthur as he took cover from a stream of bullets. He took a small peek to look for the grenadier amongst the group.

One of their men was struck in the head and fell without a word. The rest managed to spread out and took cover with expert ease.

"Arthur!" Kallen shouted as she readied her pistol. Lelouch's twin was staring at the firing soldiers then suddenly fired a single shot. One of the ebony clad troopers fell firing a grenade launcher that struck the nearby wall.

Arthur then leapt forward to them as bullets trailed behind him.

"Cover him!" Kallen cried and one of the soldiers armed with a scoped rifle took position near her and began sniping.

Between the pings of the bullets on the floor and blast from the marksmen, the red knight managed to dash his way through the gun fire. A rebel took careful aim to take him down but was counter-sniped before he could do so.

"We need to push forward!" Arthur told them as he slide down near Kallen. The sniper fired another shot that took down another.

"Why aren't they doing anything?" Milly asked pointing at the worshippers who seemed to be completely oblivious to the fire fight around them.

"MOVE!" Arthur shouted, firing his pistol. "Split up! Flank them!"

The red knight with two riflemen moved towards the left while Kallen, Valois and the rest advanced on the right.

Kallen being the most agile leapt forward first dodging the bullets from cover to cover. She ducked for a few seconds then opened up and fired. Her first shot went wide but her second struck one in the chest and a third blasted his brains out.

Her quick movement caught her attackers off guard and that was enough for her companions to take them down.

Arthur and the two soldiers rushed from their own side firing as they came at the same time and between them they managed to make quick work of their enemies. Lambert appeared from one side and fired his pistol before turning tail.

"After him!" Valois shouted. "We need to know where they're keeping the others!"

"Wait!" Kallen called after them but the soldiers were so filled with anger and vengeance they ignored her.

They followed the Fallon men as they chased the treacherous noble. The worshippers haven't moved an inch since the shooting started. Something was really wrong.

Several armed men tried to protect Lambert but they were brutally slaughtered by the vengeful soldiers. One man was blasted point blank range by Valois' shotgun leaving the man with a large hole in his chest.

Then finally Lambert was cornered in a study meeting room of sorts.

"Nowhere to run, bastard." The sergeant cursed aiming his rifle at the noble's head.

Despite his situation, Lambert laughed. "Ha! Damn, commoners. You really think I'd run from the likes of you."

Kallen heard Arthur whisper a curse and before she knew it the lights suddenly turned off leaving the flash lights of the group as the only source of illumination.

Suddenly, pairs of glowing red symbols appeared all over the place.

"Oh, my god, not these guys again!" Kallen complained. "Run! All of you run!"

"Kill them!" Lambert's voice shouted.

"Lead them out!" Arthur tapped Kallen's shoulder and ran after a random direction where he disappeared into the darkness.

"But...right. Follow me!" Kallen shouted as someone screamed.

The attack came at the perfect timing for Arthur to finish his mission but the thought of sacrificing Kouzki and the rest for it plagued his mind. They were not Arfons and all of them knew they were risking their lives here. He had never felt like that before.

Regardless, the red knight knew he needed to finish off what he was here to do first before he could help the others.

But somehow, he knew that Kozuki could take care of them. He did not know how but he just knew it.

* * *

"Don't scatter! Keep together." Kallen shouted.

The soldiers were in terror and several of them were too frightened by what had appeared before them.

One lost himself completely in fear began firing wildly. A shadow strider dodged the bullets with ease then leapt onto him and buried a dagger into the man's chest.

The hooded figure drew an arm back and flung his weapon into the head of another. A second strider closed in on Kallen but having fought them before she quickly managed to dodge the lunge and fired her pistol.

The assassin staggered before the shots and Kallen used the advantage to shoot it in the eye at point blank range.

Valois to her credit kept her cool and blasted one with her shotgun which sent it flying back.

"What the hell are those things?" The Fallon captain demanded.

"Monsters!" Rivalz shouted in terror as he desperately tried to avoid the swipes of a shadow strider. Luck seemed to be with him as none of the blows came home.

Kallen wondered how Arthur fared and hoped he was alright.

"Watch out!" A burst of machine gun fire forced a strider to withdraw as his arm was hit.

The half-Britannian turned to see Milly with a smoking rifle. She looked like a war goddess from some film.

"Hey, I'm the heir of the Ashford family remember? I can take care of myself." She said with a wink as the blonde reporter turned her fire on the strider who just beheaded one of the solders.

Kallen grinned at her friend and stood side by side with her as they made an orderly retreat from the striders.

"This way!" The sergeant shouted, standing by an electronic door. They were going to rush through it but before they could a strider dagger flew passed Kallen's face in inches and struck the control panel disabling it.

"Smart bastards." Kallen muttered and she fired into the face of one before running back.

* * *

"Damn creepy things were useful after all." Lambert muttered as he wore his cape and walked back to his shuttle flanked by his household guards who had been waiting for him.

"Think of what'd happen if we unleashed that on every Imperial garrison. We'd win the war without wasting any knightmares."

"Yes, my lord." The escort said dutifully.

As Robert Lambert turned, two gun shots fired killing two of his escorts. A third shot struck his shoulder.

"Agrah!" The noble gripped his wounded shoulder and glared at his assailant. The other guards turned their rifles and fired into the direction.

They sprayed entire room but a fourth shot took down another guard.

A lithe figure leapt forward began firing at them with a pistol with deadly accuracy. The last guard fell as his brains disappeared in a mist of blood. Another shot struck his leg and he was down.

Biting his tongue in the fall, Lambert turned to stare at the new comer and startled. "Lelouch!"

"Lord Lambert, a pleasure to finally meet you." He gave a mocking bow and walked up. The former noble stared at the figure with disbelief.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked the white haired version of the Emperor. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Can't rest in peace with the racket you people have been making." Lelouch replaced his magazine with another clip.

"So care to tell me what's the rebellion doing with these cultists?"

Lambert grimaced as he shifted his shoulder. "Take a guess."

"I suppose not." Lelouch walked towards him with his left hand fisted for an upcoming punch.

Once he opened it however, his palm was glowing blue with a bird like symbol.

"Fuck! You're one of them too!" Robert tried to move away but his wounds made it hard.

He grabbed the rebellious noble's forehead and gripped it hard. A blast of blue energy shot out as the former noble screamed. He scratched and beat at him but the demon was relentless.

Lelouch gritted his teeth as images of the nobleman's memories and knowledge course through his mind as well as Lambert's abilities, all the selfish thoughts, all the power hungry desire, the cold-blooded murders...

When he was done, though Lambert was breathing hard Lelouch seemed to be staggering as well.

"I can't believe people like you actually exist in this world..." The white version of the Emperor muttered.

Despite himself, Lambert laughed. "You have no idea. Ha! I didn't think the great Demon Emperor would be so naive."

"You don't deserve to live." Lelouch raised his pistol.

"Then I'm glad I have demons of our own!"

A dark figure slammed into him knocking away his gun and Lambert took the chance to limp away.

"NO!" The former Emperor shouted as he struggled with the Shadow Strider on him.

"Call me a coward, Lelouch. But cowards live the longest!"

"DAMNIT!" Arthur cursed as the assassin kicked him to the ground. The red knight kicked the dark figure off but the strider came back with a lightning fast side kick that sent him back to the ground.

Before he could recover, the strider grabbed him by his collar and with a monstrous strength for even for a heavily built man threw him against the wall.

His face struck hard and bit his lips in the collusion.

The dark assassin flung a dagger at him but it missed Arthur. The knight recovered and returned the dagger back at its owner but the strider knocked it aside with his metal gloves.

Brandishing the knife long claws, the Shadow Strider advanced towards him with murder in its eyes.

The Strider poured down a fury of slashes down on Arthur who raised his left hand to block the blows but the assassin did not let up and continued to attack more fiercely.

Yet, despite several powerful blows and cuts Arthur's arm withstood it all without bleeding.

It made the Strider pause to stare at what made even his fearsome attacks ineffective.

Arthur let out a dark chuckle. "Yea, even you would probably realise that I'm no mere human."

The same hand shot out and grabbed the strider in the neck and slammed it against the wall.

Then with a simple crunch, the deadly assassin was still.

Dropping the body, the red knight knelt by the corpse's side and gripped its forehead to absorb its strength and knowledge.

"I don't have the Emperor's Power of Kings and forgive me if it's real Geass but at least it allows me to complete my mission. Besides it _is_ what you people installed into me anyway..."

His palm shot out a small burst of azure light then he let go and walked away.

"Now that was much easier." Arthur muttered and his eyes glowed with the blue artificial Geass and vanished into the darkness...

* * *

"Block the way!" Kallen shouted as she slotted another magazine into her pistol. A Strider leapt pass the wall dodging a torrent of machine gun fire.

Kallen looked around her. From about at least two dozen strong, there were less than 10 men left standing and those left were struggling to survive against horrors beyond their wildest imaginations.

A trio of daggers flew pass her face and Kallen had to perform a swift black-flip to dodge a lung by one of the dark assassins. Valois got up close and fired her shotgun at the assassin even as Kallen landed.

"Fire in the hole!" The bespectacled demolition expert shouted and prepared to throw the C-4 when a dagger suddenly flew out of the entrance and struck him in the chest.

"Anders!" Valois shouted as the soldier fell to his knees. But he was not defeated yet as he struggled to attach a wire on to himself.

His companions tried to reach for him but the Striders kept to pushing them out. Kallen thanked the gods that they were in a narrow passage otherwise they would have been overrun minutes ago.

"Get out!" Anders charged for the door despite the heavy bleeding. He was quickly caught in between the crossfire and the Striders as his entire body blew up in a massive flame.

"Look out! Rivalz!" Milly shouted. The cameraman stumbled away from the rest of the group as the ceiling fell in on them.

Rivalz couldn't recall what was happening in the past ten to fifteen minutes. One moment he was following a bunch of commandos to storm into some evil lair which from some ancient temple ruins turned miraculously into pseudo-scientific yet religious base? Was he even making sense?

Then all of a sudden everyone's shooting everyone and boogiemen appeared and start attacking. The former student councillor did not know what else to do but run for his life as he was not a soldier and even if he was he had no weapons.

Rivalz tried to get away from the rubbles by jumping into a doorway which he never recalled from entering.  
There was a door and he quickly used it to shut the cave in away.

"Phew…thank heavens…" He sighed in relief and leaned against the wall.

This was worse than that time the whole Ashford had rioted over his new...ok maybe not that bad.

He allowed himself to take some deep breaths before checked for any broken bones. Thankfully, nothing seemed to be broken. Even his camera was untouched from what he felt! His torch was gone though and it was pitch black.

"Wait, I still have the damn camera light!" He felt for the light switch but it was hard. Finally he felt he felt a familiar texture.

"There we go! Huh? Agra..." He quickly closed mouth shut.

He was back in that old tomb...only it wasn't really a tomb. The sarcophagus here had some wires on them and that same funny symbol they've been seeing all along the place.

Rivalz walked towards it slowly and staring into the darkness where the first sarcophagus was. He could feel a cold shiver going down his spine even as he looked at it. Despite himself, he reached for the face.

Then the eyes glowed red with the bird like symbol.

"Agrah!" Rivalz yelped and jumped back. As he did, he bumped into someone.

Startled, that he wasn't alone the former student flashed the light at it and gasped.

It was a man dressed in some black robes the cultists were wearing. On his forehead was that symbol. And he was together with at least several dozens of them crowding around Rivalz.

Swallowing his sliver, the blue haired man smiled weakly, expecting them to all lunged at him.

Yet, they did not move a muscle. And literally not a muscle! Not even their eye lids. They just stood there staring at him. Or rather what was behind him?

The foremost of them stepped forward and Rivalz gladly moved out of his way. The others did not stop him either as their attention was completely on the leader. The man went to the sarcophagus and raised his hands muttering in some strange language.

Rivalz was scared and wanted nothing more than to get away from the place but curiosity urged him to stay.

The wires on the sarcophagus began to glow and he sensed that something terrible was going to come out of it. In the light of their intrusion and the fighting earlier, it was probably meant for his friends. Especially with those boogiemen chasing them. Heck, they might even be in those sarcophaguses like the Egyptian mummies!

Despite his fear, Rivalz knew that this was the time to act to protect his friends. The wires meant that there was something powering the sarcophaguses. Since the cultists did not consider him a threat to him, Rivalz quietly made his way around them to find what was linked. Apparently these people here think that all the stuff the rebels are doing are due to some divine power. So there was probably a control panel of some sort controlling the power.

He found a door behind the gathering cultists who began chanting something. Rivalz used his torch to look for the wire and found the panel behind a slab.

"Ah, nuts!" Rivalz cursed as he saw the language was not in English. Unlike in the movies, he probably wouldn't be able to do much even if the panel was in English. He heard the sarcophagus opening up and turned to see one of those black hooded figures that attacked them. It did not look as fit as those that attacked them but he had no doubt even this one could a lot of damage. More of the sarcophaguses began to open up as well.

"Oh crap. What to do?" He muttered in panic. Rivalz began to press everything on the panel which suddenly switched on the lights and various other effects but nothing to stop the sarcophaguses from opening. There were a dozen now.

"Ah, damn it!" Rivalz reached for a large sharp rock and brought it hard on the panel's base.

The sarcophaguses stopped at their tracks but it did not completely shut down either. Seeing this, he threw the rock at what's left of the base and pushed it right in the middle of the wires.

The panel exploded and there was a loud alarm where the sarcophaguses began sparking fire and exploding. The monsters that appeared also began to react wildly.

"YES!" Rivalz shouted in victory. Behind him were a hundred angry eyes watching him...

* * *

_Base on alert. All security forces to Sector 2, 6 and 7._

Arthur lowered his smoking pistol as he entered room. He casually stepped over the pool of blood from guard he slain and silently entered the room.

Two more black guards appeared and opened fire on him.

The red knight's eyes glowed blue and disappeared into darkness as the bullets came. Two gun shots sounded and both guards fell without a sound.

Arthur reappeared behind them and walked calmly to the control panel.

_Alert! Vault being breached! Alr..._

"The Power of Duplication is useful." The red knight mused.

"The package is compromised! Hurry up, you fools! The Arch-duke wants it transported to a safe house!" A voice snarled.

He entered a room filled with a squad of rebel Britannian soldiers. Two of them were carrying a metal container.

Arthur fired at them first killing one and wounding the other.

"Kill the Imperial!" They turned their rifles on him but Arthur used the Strider's Geass and disappeared.

"Good God! They're got these freaks too! Hurry and get that stuff out of here! I've had enough of these freaks for one day!"

The Geass was not truly what it seemed. It was imperfect and was artificial, created for the ultimate assassins. The ability to bend light. But what little of it was enough for Arthur's own powers.

And Lelouch's clone used it to his advantage.

He leapt into different corners of the room and fired at different angles each time then leapt to other parts.

"Agrah!" It made quick work of the soldiers.

"Where is he?" The sergeant shouted as his brain exploded in blood.

"Corporal!" The officer shouted. "Get that thing out of here! The rest of you, kill him!"

The NCO turned his carbine around. "Squad 1, cover the left. Squad 2 cover right. The rest of you..."

"Cover centre. Typical." Arthur reappeared in front of him and shot the soldier in the face. He walked calmly towards the officer.

"What are you doing?" The officer stared at him in disbelief as Lelouch's ghost was trailed by 8 rifles.

"Getting the object." Arthur opened the container as two explosions finished off the remaining soldiers. "Just go back to your master."

"Not without your head!" The officer drew his sabre and lunged at him. Arthur casually drew his side arm and shot him before sheathing it.

The red knight opened the container.

"So this is the relic?" He thought it was a shield but it wasn't. It was...

"A sabre?" That was strange. Why would a Templar relic be a 19th century blade instead of a medieval long sword? It does make sense that the blade was a British heavy cavalry sabre...

"Of course. The Templars here were part of the Britannian forces. And British sabres were...well popular..." He took the sword and examined the hint.

"A red cross. Heh."

He began to turn away from the carnage and head back to the others when his skull felt like exploding.

"Agrah!" Arthur _screamed_. _Lelouch could feel his brain being literally squeezed as he watched the man with the avian symbols in his eyes staring at him. _

_"Intruders will be persecuted. No one must interfere with the work." The cloaked man rasped. Hooded armoured guards joined in with their weapons drawn._

_"Arthur!" Launcelot leapt in throwing off his black cloak revealing his white and gold armour. The knight slashed a guard with his sword then tossed his dagger at the warlock who was attacking Lelouch._

_The cloaked man avoided the weapon with a curse and Lelouch used the moment to recover and lunged forward with his sword at the ready and ran the faltering wizard through before he could do such a thing again._

_"You won't infect anyone with your sorcery, demon." Lelouch snarled._

_The warlock laughed. "Haha, you think this is a matter of good and evil? You are naive. There is no such thing in this world..." He coughed blood. "It doesn't matter. You will one day die with it..."_

_Lelouch threw the corpse down and gestured his best friend._

_"We need to move now!" The prince and the knight rushed down the stairs and burst into the chamber filled with the cultists._

_"Now!" Lelouch waved his sword at Gwaine who had entered with his forces. A dozen archers appeared from the hiding places and loosed their crossbow bolts into the guards and worshippers._

_They also knocked down the altars and brought them down on escaping tunnels and cut them off._

_"CHARGE!" The doors slammed open and armoured horsemen rode in bristling with blades._

_The lead horsemen rode down the hapless guards then turned on the cultists._

_"Slaughter them!" Their captain shouted, beheading a female cultist who tried to raise her hands in protest. His horse trampled over her body._

_The foot soldiers entered and joined the fray, killing the enemy indiscriminately._

_"Look for the prisoners!" Lelouch shouted. "Kill the rest!"_

_These cultists will suffer for the torture they did on his people. The Britannian prince would make sure the group would never rise again on this earth._

Arthur shook his head then found himself staring at a wooden door with a heraldic shield bearing St. George's Red Cross.

"How did I end up here?" He looked around confused. Arthur was at the older part of the temple again and there was no trace of the military base. He looked at his left palm which was glowing blue with the Geass sigil again. The light from it spread to the room which lit up in bright blue revealing a large treasury filled with weapons, scrolls, books and paintings.

The blue light spread from the brick walls and flowed about like electrons particles. They all gathered around the shield at the door.

There was another shield in the middle of it though unlike the arms of Richard Lionheart which bore the three lions of England in the middle of those of England, this one held a golden dragon in a black foreground.

The crest of the Pendragons...the blue energy surrounded the dragon...and the dragon came to life and breathed blue flame into him...

* * *

A grenade bounced down their position in a ping then exploded.

"Don't get pinned down!" Valois shouted, peppering the enemy position with her boomstick.

Kallen held a fallen warrior's rifle and added to the salvo of lead that was falling around.

Someone cocked his grenade launcher but the unnamed sergeant stopped him.

"We're going to need that later." He snapped, instead he reached for one of his pouches then hurled a small cylinder at the mass of black uniforms cornered at the entrance.

A burst of light flashed from the flashbang and their opponents cried as they covered their eyes.

The temporal blindness gave the ragged group of warriors the time to attack and the last one fell with Valois' shotgun blasting his head off.

"That was quick." Sergeant muttered. He cocked an empty shell from his rifle.

"Too quick." Valois agreed.

"You people seemed to be used to this kind of thing." Kallen commented at the way how the soldiers operated.

"Most of us were part of the Knight Police. Some of us were part of the military but the rest of us learnt it the hard way from Lelouch's purges."

The red haired woman nodded, controlling his emotions. Lelouch had brought most of his people united together.

Together against himself...as he did with the rest of the world.

"Captain! Something's up ahead."

"You two, follow me." Sergeant gestured and moved forward with his rifle primed down. He raised his hand after a few steps and cocked his weapon.

There was a small shift.

"Anyone there?"

A faint voice replied though no one could make out what the words were.

"Hold fire." Sergeant said. He walked up ahead.

A small young girl, probably around the age of eight to ten in a black cloak appeared and stared mutely at the armed men and women.

"Diana!" Sergeant cried dropping his rifle and holding the young girl. "My young girl...I thought I lost you."

The girl did not return the embrace of her father but stared mutely at Kallen and the rest. She never blinked for a single moment.

Kallen felt uneasy about the girl.

"Wait, Sergeant. There's something."

"Of course, there's nothing wrong!" The sergeant snapped. "This is just my sweet daughter. What have they done to you?" He asked, as he touched her cheek gently.

The girl's mouth opened to speak something.

"What...Agrah..." The sergeant looked down to see an iron claw in his chest. The girl stared at him blankly as she withdrew her hand.

"Diana..." Sergeant muttered as he fell before the feet of his daughter.

"Oh my god!" The soldiers re-aimed their weapons at the girl. "What the hell is going on here?"

More shapes were appearing behind the girl and from the size of them; they were similar to that of the girl.

Kallen was dumbstruck by the scene what she witnessed. Did...did the girl just killed her father so cold-bloodedly? Diana advanced on to her with the horde and they were armed with those metallic gloves covered in blood.

Then suddenly the girl's head exploded in a mist of blood. An explosion rocked behind them sending most of the crowd blasted and away from them.

Arthur reappeared with a smoking pistol and a sabre in his belt.

"You can't trust anything here." Arthur said, coldly. "Not even children."

He turned his weapon into what was left of the crowd and fired several shots.

"We can't save them can we?" A soldier asked, staring at those who were their friends and relatives before.

"I'd be lying if I say anything that would make you feel better." Arthur said. "The reality is not as forgiving."

Valois nodded sombrely. "They will pay."

Several angry voices sounded along the hall as well as some strange screeches.

"The entire cult is coming." Arthur said. "We could only honour the deaths of your friends and family if we get out of here alive. I saw the map. We could only reach the surface faster from here."

Arthur pointed to the direction.

"What about Rivalz?" Milly asked.

"I'll get him." Arthur nodded. "You need to get yourselves out of here first."

Kallen stepped up. "I'm going with you." It wasn't a request.

Arthur looked to protest but then nodded. "Go."

They moved to their respective paths.

"What happened to you?" Kallen asked as she ran beside Lelouch's ghost who somehow was able to keep up with her.

"Ran into Lambert and had a nice chat with him. He had to leave without my authority though. I'll be seeing him soon."

They were running towards the voices when suddenly the door in front of them slammed open.

"ZOMBIES!" Rivalz screamed running as fast as the wind pass them.

Kallen and Arthur gave each other a blank face and grinned.

"That solves that." Behind the door however was a mob of cultists screaming and shouting. A knife flew pass Arthur.

"Time to go." The two followed their blue haired friend as they turned their weapons behind to thin the enemy chasing them.

They rush fast as explosions crumbled down.

"Looks like Rivalz did more than disable the Stiders..." Arthur mused.

"Rivalz did this?" Kallen asked as she avoided a sharp rock falling on her. "No wonder I recognise the chaos."

The two laughed despite their situation around them.

However a large mob of cultists appeared from the different rooms and they blocked the way to the elevator that would send them to the surface.

"Infidels! Blasphemers!" The cultists shouted and waved down them with weapons from rocks to swords and halberds from the ancient treasury.

Arthur tossed his pistol to Kallen and un-sling the rifle on his back.

"This is it." Arthur told her as he cocked a round into his barrel. Kallen duel wielded the side arms. They were going to do this together again like that day they took the _Gawain_.

And if they die, they would do so together.

Smiling, Kallen nodded. "Let's go!"

They charged the mob with guns blazing. Kallen fired each shot into anything blocking her way. Arthur provided her cover fire with his rifle thinning the crowd considerable. He smashed the rifle butt into the face of a bearded cultist and shot him again to make it count.

Kallen took the advantage to take down individual cultists shooting or kicking them aside.

One tried to thrust her with a spear which she expertly parried then smashed a kick in the man's face. She leapt forward to deliver a spinning kick that broke the neck of a bellowing cultist.

She tripped a second one as Arthur rushed forward with his rifle to take down what remained of the crowd. Then he tossed his empty rifle at another cultist then drew his sword to cut him down.

He had reached the elevator which Rivalz held open.

"Come on!" Rivalz shouted.

Kallen had emptied both his pistols and so she ran and leapt over the surviving cultists and landed to safety in the elevator.

"Doors closing."

* * *

**Phew! That was ONE HELL OF a long chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. It was kinda like squeezed up a bit but since I made you guys wait for so long I hoped to give you a longer chpt. :)**


	23. Chapter 8: The Second Shinjuku

**Sorry for the long delay. For that I wrote a big chapter for you guys. I am afraid I didn't have time to have my beta to take a good look at it as I'll be busy for these few days so mind the mistakes. I hope you'll enjoy it. **

**Read & Review**

* * *

Suzaku let the green haired woman drop a block of sugar into his tea.

"So you're here for information about Geass?" C.C. asked, putting the kettle back.

"I could hardly say I came here for a cup of tea." The masked knight said as he took a sip.

"True." The witch agreed. "That mask is heavy isn't it?" She returned to her seat.

Suzaku grunted an affirmative which made the immortal grin.

"Lelouch mentioned that he led the Black knights to wipe out the Geass Directorate."

C.C. nodded. "Yes. He did."

Suzaku looked into her eyes. He could find no trace of the immortal's thoughts.

"So who _is_ he?"

The green haired woman sighed. "The Red Knight, huh? Honestly, I'm not sure. There have been a lot of Red Knights in the Arthurian Legends. But one thing in common in all of them is that: they're all unpredictable."

Zero hissed impatiently. "Tell me something I don't know! I don't have much time so I'll make it blunt. Is _that_ Lelouch?!"

C.C. did not respond but stared at him. Suzaku realising his behaviour, stopped and calmed himself down.

"I'm...I'm sorry."

The immortal shook her head.

"The mask is heavy." She commented in a while, pouring more tea for him.

Suzaku did not reply, still trying to calm himself down.

"That knight...he looks exactly like Lelouch...he talks like him...acts like him...the battles...New England...Richmond..."

The Japanese knight rubbed his face.

C.C. sighed. "I'm sorry but I can't really help in this case. And to answer your real question, Lelouch had indeed intended to die."

"Great..." Suzaku murmured. "That complicates things. I should have known better."

The green haired woman sat closer to him. "I have been observing him too. You're not entirely wrong. And since I'm the only one you could talk about Lelouch, tell me what you uncovered."

So he did. C.C listened quietly not commenting as the new Zero told his tale.

Suzaku lean his head against the chair once he was done.

"I can't begin to think who this man is..."

C.C. cleared the table of the cups and rejoined him.

"From what I'm hearing, it's almost as if Lelouch had been born and raised as a knight rather than a prince."

"That's hard to imagine considering it is Lelouch we're talking about, but yes. That sounds right."

The two considered their conclusions quietly. Suzaku remembered how they both looked identically alike and how cynical they are towards the Empire and the world and deep their hatred was for their enemies.

The determination.

"But there's no other way to tell is there?"

C.C. shook her head. "DNA check can be faked. There are ways to do it. And if not I doubt he's foolish enough to allow anyone to get near him. Unless, there's something uniquely about Lelouch that you know..."

Suzaku narrow his eyes.

* * *

**Rebel Command Base**

"Zero has taken Ohio." The Earl of Pembroke snarled as the Purist leaders gather around the map.

"The Stuarts are all dead." Another added. "So are the Cambrians. Most of our armies are being pushed back to the north."

"Lord Wilde has reported that Cornelia's forces have taken the South. Public support has literally died out there! And now she's moving up the bulk of the Imperials up."

"The Round Table has diverted their forces to the East and if they win at Manassas, they'll have enough strength to push up!"

"Where are our armies? We control 70% of the Britannian military! How could we be losing?"

"With the energy wing system we should be able to improve our frontline forces."

Pembroke shook his head. "We can't mass produce the damn thing. We only managed to get it from that Earl of Pudding when we raided his estate!"

Another noble slammed the table. "So we have the most powerful army in the world and we're still losing!?"

"ENOUGH!" A booming voice silenced the room. The Archduke of Oxbridge entered the room. His face was crimson with anger.

"This senseless banter is not going to solve anything!" He downed the offered wine. "Let us do this calmly and as gentlemen. What is the situation on the eastern front?"

"New York reported that most of Virginia has fallen to the Imperial cause and half the Round table has moved their forces up."

Oxbridge nodded. "It'll be fine. New York still has enough forces to hold. What about Iowa?"

A young officer activated the map. "Lord Lambert's forces are already engaging Imperial forces in Kansas. The main force has been pushed back but we've got a huge contingent of troops pass the enemy lines ready to flank them."

Oxbridge looked distracted. "Kansas?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Get me Lord Lambert. Tell him to contact me in my quarters. For now. Try to fight a defensive action on all the other fronts. Cornelia's forces are likely to arrive in a week's time. We'll need to be ready."

With that the nobleman turned back from the war room and back to his room.

"We've lost contact with our Kansas cells." A voice spoke. A cloaked figure appeared from the side.

"How did that happen?" Oxbridge sneered quietly. "You told me that you've got the entire operation covered! You even bribed the Imperial troops around it!"

The cultist shrugged. "There were many unforeseen circumstances."

The huge nobleman took of his sword belt and threw it across the room in frustration.

"The war is turning against us and now this!" He took a wine bottle and drank it directly from it. "So now what are you planning to do? If the Imperials find out about that place...this...this entire rebellion is going to die in a matter of days!"

The cultist shook his head. "They won't find out. We've directed all our forces in the area. No one will ever know what was there."

Oxbridge rubbed his eyebrows. "Are there any settlements in the area?"

"There's a large town, Fallon where we drew most of our _recruits_."

The nobleman drained another mouthful of wine.

"Wipe it off the map."

* * *

Kallen opened her eyes and saw Lelouch's concerned face studying her.

She tried to move but pain tore through her side.

"Careful." The white haired Lelouch said. "You got a nasty cut."

Kallen saw the bandage around her torso and got up carefully.

"Where are we?"

"At the town." He explained. "After we got out of the elevator, we got ambushed by Dante's men but the townspeople saved us. Got the entire platoon's Knightmares in the process too."

The red haired woman dared to touch her wound. "I don't suppose you had anything to do with that?"

Arthur gave her a Lelouch smirk and shrugged. Only then Kallen realised that his red and white jacket had been torn and that her _bandages_ had been made from it.

Her realisation must have been obvious as Arthur's face turned crimson and began to stand up.

"Now that you're up, we've got something else to attend to." He nodded to a man in a dark blue and white uniform.

The man acknowledged and walked off.

He helped her up and the two went out.

Fallon, a town they may call was almost as large as a city. Of course not as much but still she figured that there must be at least been over twenty thousand souls in this settlement.

Or rather had been.

Once it might have been thriving with life but now, the town looked almost as miserable as the ghettos of Area 11.

Kallen saw some women peering at them from the windows. It was hard to imagine Britannians looking so pathetic but the young Black knight could not feel anything but pity for them.

The two arrived near a large silver building that resembled slightly to the castle like figure of Area 11 Government bureau.

Valois met them at the foot of the building, her wounds bandaged and flanked by two men in white and blue police gear.

"Good to see you're up." The policewoman said. "Now that we know what's been happening, we're going to need to let the Baron know."

"You don't sound confident." Arthur commented.

Valois grimaced. "Let's just say he and I don't usually see eye to eye."

The group entered the building which was might have once been filled with activity now the officers and government workers sat idly at their posts. Kallen realised how bleak they all look.

Near the elevator, a man in a blue suit and tie came down with two others dressed in black.

"Valois!" He gave a whispered shout. "This is all your doing! They're going to kill us all now. I've been fighting to keep them from coming here! This is my town!"

"And I'm in charge of the town's security, Baron!" Valois replied equally. "You think I'm going to do nothing and let our people disappear each day."

The Baron glanced at Arthur and Kallen. "And who are these two?"

"We're the Empress' Emissaries." Kallen answered.

The man snorted. "So you're here to claim Fallon for the Empire?" He gave a bitter laugh. "Well, you're too late."

The man turned to the elevator as Kallen, Arthur and Valois exchanged confused glances.

The elevator turned to the mayor's office and as they exited the two bodyguards stayed behind.

"Lord Lambert's personal scouts had arrived last night." The Baron announced as they entered the office to see half a dozen men in combat armour.

Their leader an officer in the light blue uniform of Dante's regiment jumped in alarm at seeing Arthur and Kallen.

The two sides quickly reached for their weapons and the Baron realising what would erupt, turned away from the office.

"Oh, god." He turned to the phone and shouted. "GUARDS! GUARDS! Get up here!"

The rebel officer then kicked the desk at them for a make shift barricade as the other soldiers open up with their weapons.

Valois fired her revolver and took a soldier in the head.

Kallen and Arthur jumped to different sides.

Kallen belatedly realised that she didn't have any more clips for her pistol. At the same time, one of the rebel soldiers began advancing towards her firing as he came.

Another soldier however cocked his assault rifle ready to spray the entire room but one of Valois' men shot him in the shoulder armour knocking him back.

The white haired Lelouch seemed to realised Kallen's plight and slide his black and gold pistol towards her.

His timing couldn't have been better as the rebel soldier had just appeared in her sight as she turned the pistol in his face.

Arthur then grabbed his cover, a tea table and flung it at the nearest soldier and lunged forward with his sabre.

The swing knocked the soldier side and he leapt at the second one slicing his throat. Kallen came up and fired at the soldiers aiming for Arthur as he moved in close quarters.

She heard Valois' revolver fire and taking down another.

The rebel lieutenant fired his pistol that struck one of the police officers. He turned to aim at Kallen but before he could Arthur's sabre swung and sliced off his hand.

As the man screamed, Arthur smashed the sword guard into his nose. The final shot announced the death of the last soldier.

"Guards!" The Baron's voice sounded and soon men in Knight Police armour stormed with assault rifles and visored helmets.

They aimed their weapons at the five left in the bloodied room. A huge man in black and blue uniform came in with a raised revolver.

"Valois, what's going on?" He demanded.

"It's over, Chief." Valois announced.

Arthur turned to the assembled men. "The rebels are preparing to assault this town." Kallen noticed he flexed his left hand as if it had been electrocuted.

"This man will confirm it." The rebel officer seemed shock at the statement even over the pain of his lost hand.

The Baron became furious and pointed at Kallen and Arthur. "This is entirely your fault! Because of your presence here, now the rebels are going to level this town and kill everyone with it! Dante promised that they wouldn't touch this if we don't go against them."

"Wait! You knew!?" Valois turned to the nobleman. "You knew about Dante being a rebel?"

The Baron brushed it aside. "Of course I knew! They came in force months ago. They threatened to kill us all if we don't allow them here."

_That explains Dante's actions._ Kallen thought.

"But our people!" Valois said angrily. "All those disappearances, all those deaths...Do you know that the rebels are using our people for military experiments!?"

The guards startled and lowered their weapons and now facing the town leader. The Baron paled.

"I knew that they were up to no good but it was either that or the entire population. I chose the greater good!"

Many of the guards gasped in shock. Fury gripped Valois who lunged at the nobleman and slammed him against the wall.

"You bastard!" She drew a thick bladed dagger. "You sold our own children to them like some human sacrifice!?" Tears dwelled in the other woman's eyes. Kallen could scarcely imagine how much she had lost.

Knowing this would go out of hand, Arthur stepped forward.

"Right now," Lelouch's twin announced. "There's little time for this. The rebel army is coming and they're going to raze this place to the ground."

He said it loud and clear so that everyone in the room would hear it.

The police chief turned and asked. "What will we do?"

Arthur turned to Kallen instead who suddenly realised that everyone in the room was looking at her.

The Knight of Two and Black Knight commander closed her eyes and spoke.

_This is going to be another Shinjuku..._

"We prepare for battle."

* * *

**Imperial Palace**

Suzaku wore his Zero mask as he landed the _Lancelot Rei_ down in the hanger. The royal guards saluted him as he headed to meet Nunnally.

He found the red-coated Guilford and Dalton at the main chamber amongst the maroon and blue uniforms of the Imperial Guard on one side and the green and black uniforms of the Black Knight commanders on the other.

"Lord Zero," Guilford saluted. "Her Majesty has asked for your presence at her quarters."

Nodding, Suzaku headed right there.

He found Nunnally alone in the room in a loose violet dress.

"Your Majesty," Suzaku entered.

"Suzaku," She replied. "Am I doing the right thing?"

"What do you mean?" The Japanese knight asked, confused.

Nunnally turned to face him. "I'm fighting this terrible war to end the cycle of hatred that Lelouch gave his life for. But from what I see, the fighting increases and many still want to fight. To them I am the oppressor."

"Nunnally..."

"All I want is to return peace back to this world. Everything that Lelouch died for. Will fighting this war bring that?"

Suzaku knelt beside her. "I can't answer that, but letting the rebels win is definitely not good for this world."

The Britannian Empress looked at him with tears in her eyes then brought her arms around him and sobbed.

Startled by the move, Suzaku almost fell but slowly he allowed his own arms to wrap around her.

* * *

**Fallon, Kansas**

"Alright, open up." Kallen told the policeman who swapped a card on the computerized lock that opened up the old room.

The room was ancient and they could smell metal rusting as the automatic door opened slowly.

Kallen and the chief of police who introduced himself as Waltfeld, a one eyed veteran against crime followed him down.

Kallen was in awe of the amount of weapons inside. They were ancient: Pacific War and the weapons from the initial Britannian invasion of Europe! Infantry weapons that had been long abandoned and knightmarized. Swords, explosives, C4s. There were even knightmare parts.

"This is enough to equip a small army." Kallen said it with a smile.

"So these new plating will stop even assault rifles?" Valois asked, puzzled.

Arthur nodded as he knelt near the oversize riot shield. He touched the new armoured plating made from the minerals they melted from the mines.

"Unfortunately, it can't be done for the human size shields. But that won't do much good in a fire fight anyway. But this will give you an edge to your Knight Police _Glasgow_ over their military grades. Besides you don't need to attack them."

The police officers nodded and mumbled amongst themselves.

Kallen joined the group, covered in sweat and oil and wearing her sleeveless shirt. She had been helping out with the setting up of mines and gun turrets. Good for them, they even found automated defences and drones and sentry guns even if most was for infantry.

Arthur saw her and took him a moment or so not to look below her face.

Feeling her own cheeks heating up, Kallen asked.

"Did you get anything out of that guy?"

The white haired Lelouch nodded. "Took me a while but we've got two regiments with full air and artillery support."

The knowledge shocked most of the police officers and even Kallen was unsettled.

"That many? That's at least a hundred knightmares..."

"Not only that," Arthur continued. "There's also a unit from one of the Knight Orders there. The Knights of St. Darwin."

A police officer swallowed audibly. "_Knights_?"

"They're going to be a problem." Arthur agreed. "So we're going to have to make sure that we won't be forced to engage them head on."

A runner came and the officers turned to him about moving the civilians and left Kallen and Arthur alone.

"We're badly outnumbered and outgunned." Kallen whispered to Arthur.

The red knight grimaced. "With less than fifty knightmares: eight _Gloucesters_ and twenty over _Knight Police_ _Glasglows_ and _Sutherlands_? That's hardly an army. So what is your plan?"

Kallen stared at him.

Arthur coughed. "I mean, you are the commanding officer. As a Knight of the Round and being the most experienced, that makes you in charge. And you have fought the Britannian armies in your resistance day with likely less weapons and equipments. "

The red haired woman smirked. "Well, I would stay and fight too if that's what you're trying to imply."

Arthur scoffed in reply.

"But like you said, I am just a knight. I'm better off fighting on the frontlines."

Arthur looked confused so Kallen made it clear for him.

"I would be more comfortable if you took command."

The red knight looked surprised. "Me?"

When Kallen nodded, Arthur lost all his composure.

"Why would you have me in charge? I'm not even part of the Imperial army." He paused, knowing that Kallen was already thinking of his past victories. "Whatever you heard is likely exaggerated. And after I said about the Black..."

"I know. I would still prefer if you took over." Kallen cut him off before you could continue. "It's strange. But I feel that I could trust you. How...I don't know but I just feel it. I'm confident that even at this point if you lead us, we'll be victorious." She bore her deep blue eyes into his azure orbs.

_I just know it's you, Lelouch..._

Arthur was lost for words and he stared back, with his face losing all of his masks. It was just like it had been, when she declared her dedication to follow him as a Black knight.

Feeling her cheeks heating up, Kallen turned away. "Well, we've got a lot of rebels and so little time. I'm going to help out with the knightmare adjustments."

But as she turned away, Kallen heard Lelouch's voice barely a whisper and teeming with emotion.

"Thank you...Kallen." She was glad she had turned as the Knight of Two's face was now matching the colour of her hair.

* * *

**Tokyo, United States of Japan**

"Xingke!" Xianglin barged into his office as the leader of the Black Knights was taking his afternoon tea.

"Xianglin, what's wrong?" He had never seen Xianglin so pale since the war.

"You have to look at this." She showed his a datapad of troop movements.

"Black Knights 8th Division in Jakarta?" The Chinese commander frowned. "Military exercise."

"There's more." His aide told him switching to another unit.

"305th Division in Manila?" He switched to another. "Military exercise. 7th Battle Group in Hong Kong? Military exercise."

There was more and more of them in different corners of Asia.

"That's over 2 million men _in training_." Xianglin gave him the figure as Xingke mentally calculated the numbers. "And they're all sanctioned by their respective Senators."

The dark haired soldier got up from his seat. "Send this to Chairman Kaguya. We've got to stop this troop build up before the Britannians hear about it."

* * *

**Later that night, Imperial Palace**

Ogami Kojima scaled the wall and slipped his black armoured form over the parapet onto the roof of the kitchen block. The most recent sensor sweep of the area had picked something up. Or rather, it hadn't.

Ogami Kojima had been on his way to search the quarter of Bedford's head knight used while they were out when the security post had flagged the anomaly. The sensor sweep had revealed a vague blank on the roof of the kitchen block, a dead spot that the sensors seemed unable to read or probe. The adepts manning the security post had dismissed it as an imaging artefact, but Ogami had not been so quick to judge. In his opinion, the reading suggested someone or something well-veiled, a presence announced by its very absence.

Ogami Kojima was a wary man. He had been a soldier longer than he had been an adult. Born to the family of a former Samurai Warlord, Ogami Kojima had been trained as a warrior since birth.

At the age of sixteen he served with the Japanese Defence Force as Prime Minister Kururugi ordered the last stand against the Britannian forces. His unit was mainly made up of child soldiers hastily formed militia units. The troop leader had been killed in the first week by Britannian air strikes. Perhaps seeing something only children could see, the troop turned to Ogami for leadership. Barely an adult, Ogami had taken command. By the time the Britannian forces had overrun most of the country he had killed sixteen men in open combat, and was a hardened, emotionally extinct veteran of that hopeless guerrilla operation against occupational troops.

Then the Knights of the Empire had arrived in giant robotic forms. His unit was wiped out in hours. The brutalised child soldiers were gradually rounded up during the subsequent cleansing campaign, and the fiercest of them paraded before the Britannian lords for their amusement.

Then Colonel Todoh, a fellow samurai and then Commander Ryoma defeated that very unit at Itsukushima and he was taken in by the heroic leaders.

The army officers had always said that there had been something in Ogami's face that had marked him out from the other pugnacious, filthy war-urchins. Ogami Kojima wasn't quite sure what that meant, but he had been placed in the ward of an officer, to be raised as his surrogate son.

Aged eighteen, Ogami Kojima had joined the JLF. Six years later, he served as a commander of JLF's ground operation and later the Black Knights, and was one of the most decorated and respected warriors in the regiment.

Later he was transferred to the Spec Ops unit the infamous _Shinobi_ Squad under the late Diethard Reid and Ryoma when he became senator to aid in assassinating the false hero Zero himself who reveal to be a prince of their mortal enemy using supernatural power.

Ogami Kojima crouched low, drawing his short, curved sword of Japanese steel. The palace sensors were feeding directly into his visor, conjuring subtle green tactical displays in front of his eyes. There was the blank, the absence. Twenty metres left, at the rim of the roof.

He coiled like a cat, and pounced. The rim of the roof was vacant. There was no one there. Nothing.

No, _not _nothing. On the low parapet, there was a scrap of paper, held down by a small white stone. The scrap read: _Better luck next time._

* * *

**Fallon**

Night had fallen over the town though its defenders had not stopped their preparation for the upcoming genocide. The bulk of them remained the town's Knight Police but soon every able bodied member of the settlement had joined in, numbering over at least two thousand now.

Trenches, barricades, improvised bunkers had been made along with arming the police APC with heavy machine guns and anti-armour weapons. Fortunately, for the defenders the desert had been a famous hideout for crime and anti-Imperial rebels in Britannian history and the law enforcement had been able to gain possession of much of their weapons.

While a night attack seems advantageous for the rebel army, according to the information from the captive officer the units that would comprise of the task force would take at least a single day to gather their full strength.

"The rebels are likely to take position here, here and here." Arthur explained to the group leaders in their make shift headquarters at the town hall building.

"Some of you have probably served in the military," He commented, receiving some nods of acknowledgements. "This is not a mere Search and Destroy mission or rescuing a hostage. Their mission," He pointed at the mass of rebel enemies on the map, indicating clearly how the gathering points have cut off and surrounded the town.

"Is genocide." The red knight let the notion sink in. "They are going to kill every man, woman and children in this town. Expect no quarters. No mercy from them. They're led by the Knights of St. Darwin, zealots fanatically loyal to Charles zi Britannia's policies."

Arthur waited for any of the officers to ask questions but received none.

"You have your orders. Let your men know what their defending."

With that the meeting was dismissed and Arthur walked down to the knightmare armoury to find Kallen who was waiting for him.

"How was it?" She asked.

"They understood what they need to do. Nothing more needed to be said."

They walked together observing the military grade knightmare frames being painted police colours so that they would stand out from the rebel army.

The lieutenants and military veterans would pilot the _Gloucesters_ as squad leaders while the rest take on the _Sutherlands _and the _Knight Police _Frames.

"So where do you want me?" Kallen asked.

Arthur looked rather embarrassed at her.

"You're the best pilot here." He said slowly which made Kallen's cheeks redden slightly which only served to embarrass Arthur even further.

"So I would have you fill in the gap whenever the rebels make a breakthrough."

"Like you would use the Queen in chess?" Kallen couldn't help but to ask that.

Arthur smiled at her and nodded. "Yes, exactly." The Black knight couldn't help but laugh at that.

"What's so funny?"

Kallen stopped and smiled at him. "That's exactly what Lelouch have me do."

If anything was different from the new Arthur and Lelouch, it had to be that he was easier to catch off guard.

"I...I am flattered to be compared as such." He said, diplomatically though he seemed unsettled. "About your knightmare..."

Kallen looked at him puzzled.

"I would normally pass you a _Gloucester,_ being the highest tech but..."

Kallen's heart jumped. "It doesn't suit my style?"

Arthur's eyes widened at her answer.

"Lelouch told me that when we first met." _If you can call talking to an unseen voice meeting._

Arthur coughed uncomfortably. "Well, so instead I had your _Knight Police_ frame's joints replaced with parts from a _Gloucester_'s for better performance."

"Thank you." Kallen told him. "You did colour it red right?"

Arthur smiled and nodded.

Milly was helping out in pulling all those unable to fight to the underground bunkers including elderly and children with Rivalz ferrying them on one of the trucks.

"There's just enough room." Milly told them as she led the last batch to Rivalz's truck.

Valois nodded. "Hopefully, even if we all die in the fighting, they'll survive."

"Hopefully, the Britannian army will be here before that happens." Rivalz corrected as he entered the room.

"He's right." Arthur agreed with a chuckle. "But it'll take them a while. The main rebel force had resumed its assault on the capital."

Kallen nodded, miserably. "They won't have troops to spare until its repelled."

"So we're on our own?" Waltfeld asked.

"Seems like it."

The police chief sighed.

"What about the Black Knights?" A young police officer asked. "They're supposed to be the Knights of Justice right? Can't they help us?"

"I've sent a message to headquarters. They're sending troops though they're going to take much longer to reach here."

The Baron of Fallon heard their conversation and threw his hands in the air.

"Great! By the time those 'Knights' reach us, we'll all be dead and dying."

Valois glared at the man but Waltfeld had a hand gripped on her arm.

"The battle has not even started yet, baron." The veteran told him.

The nobleman glared at him. "Don't give me that crap. I've seen battles before serving in the Areas. This is going to be a massacre like in those Number uprisings!"

"Well, those uprisings barely have any weapons or training." Kallen said, remembering her own experiences. "The police at least are closer to the military."

The baron spat. "Please, policemen against _Knights_? We have no Knights!"

"I'm a knight." Arthur commented.

"And so am I." Kallen added surprising herself. She was accepting that she was one of the warrior elite of Britannia? Whatever it was, it earned her a look of acceptance from Arthur and that was enough.

"And besides," Arthur continued loudly so that all the defenders would hear him. "What is the difference between a knight and a common soldier? A suit of armour? A knightmare frame? Then, what is the difference between a knight and that of a mere killer? Both are trained to kill. Some of you I can see agree with that. But there _is_ a difference."

By now, he had hundreds looking at him and more listening from far.

"A Knight, as King Arthur dedicated: 'is sworn to valour. His heart knows only virtue. His blade defends the hapless. His might must uphold the weak. And that His wrath undoes the wicked.' And I see here. Men and women who chose to stay here to protect those who cannot despite the inevitable death that is coming for us all. You could have easily left the town on your own but you did not. You're all here, choosing to fight and die so that these people would live."

Arthur let his words hang. "And that is more knightly than those who march against us now. _You_ are Knights. More knightly than those anointed pansies over there."

The defenders quivered with pride.

"So now as knights, fulfil your oaths and do your duty! For your families! For your love ones! FOR FALLON!"

The defenders raised their fists and roared. "FOR FALLON! FOR FALLON! FOR FALLON!"

Kallen found herself joining in the chant and saw that Milly and even Rivalz joined in.

Whatever Lambert and Dante had in stored for them, they will not be prepared for what Arthur had just unleashed.

_Lelouch...if it is truly you...I will follow you to hell and back..._

* * *

Ogami Kojima had long mastered his ability to manage his anger. He fuelled it into his work and it had not betrayed him. But he was intent on scouring the palace for the author of the insolent, provocative note.

This man made a fool out of him and the FSS officer was forced to kill a guard to escape. But it did not matter. For the note, the man had a fatal mistake that only men of great confidence and wisdom made.

He returned to the security post to review all the feeds from the palace's sensors. In the mean time however, the Japanese captain had received a coded message from one of his patron's spies.

Signalling his lieutenants, Ogami headed to the dark knightmares in the armoury.

The FSS were the best soldiers, officers, warriors, assassins amongst the Black knights and chosen for their utmost dedication for the preservation of the United Federation of Nations.

The Britannian, Lieutenant Reeds was an ally...but pompous like most Britannians. Many members of the UFN still greatly dislike and distrust the Britannians even those who are loyal to the Empress.

However, Ogami knew that the Guard officer was willing to work with the Black Knights so long as they eliminate their common enemy.

The Japanese officer reached their transport at the hanger where their pilots were already boarding their knightmares. The Imperial Guardsman was waiting for him with a squad of his own men.

"Where to?" Reeds asked.

Ogami passed him the address.

"To the Peregrine Estate."

The Britannian officer frowned. "Never heard of it."

"Neither did anyone living now." Ogami answered.

* * *

**The next morning on the Outskirts of Fallon**

Colonel Dante stood in the G-1 Mobile Base with the other officers and the St. Darwin knights.

Sir Guillemain, leader of the knights stepped forward.

"It is time."

Lord Lambert nodded to Dante and the rebel colonel announced.

"Commence operation. Eliminate the vermin."

A line of Britannian heavy tanks and mobile artillery advanced forward with their massive cannons along with _Sutherlands_ armed with cannons.

"Open fire." And as one the thunderous barrage began.

The shells struck the town indiscriminately: churches, schools and orphanages were razed to the ground.

"INCOMING!" A police officer shouted as a shell exploded near a fire hydrant causing it to spray water around the street.

More shells struck the area. Collapsing building parts bombarded the defenders with rabbles.

An unfortunate woman avoided an explosion only to be crushed to death by debris to the head.

"Stay inside!" Arthur shouted as a second wave of shells struck them.

Shells racked the buildings, scattering limbs and tearing everything apart.

A young man lost his entire right leg to a shell screamed in pain as the cannonade raged around the city.

Some of the blasts were napalm rounds creating inferno amongst the town.

One fell inside a building and cooked the defenders inside alive. Men streamed out of the windows covered in flame.

A squad of troopers brave the barrage to give the burning men a merciful death.

It lasted for at least twenty minutes but fortunately the cannonade was hit only the outskirts of the city and the centre was untouched.

The rebel commanders seemed to have noticed too for once the barrage ceased, the skies were swarming with knightmares.

"Strike!"

Rebel gunships, _Vincent Wards,_ _Sutherlands_ and _Gloucesters_ with Float Systems dove into the town unloading their payload of missiles, bullets and cannon fire.

Despite the heavy damage they were inflicting, the invaders did not receive any form of resistance other than defiant infantrymen with occasional rifle fire.

But they were crushed regardless. By the time they had returned for a second shaft, there was almost no sound from the enemy.

However, Lambert was no fool. For a town of this size, no mere artillery or air strike was going to wipe out its inhabitants and there was no way for them to go out either as the rebel army had completely surrounded Fallon.

Lines of Knightmares and infantrymen in APCs were being readied to clear what remained.

"Get them inside!"

Milly helped an armless soldier into the building even as they pulled out the barricades that they had hidden from cannonade and barrage.

Rivalz joined her to help her set the unfortunate man against the wall.

Waltfeld was nearby and asked them. "This must be hell, coming from the Areas?" He had an insane grin.

Rivalz shook his head. "This is nothing compared to school!"

The police chief gave a bark of laugh.

"You screwed up that bad?" Milly asked.

"You don't want to know." Rivalz replied.

"Alright! Hurry! Get those barricades ready! This is the main point!"

"What good are these barricades going to do to Knightmares!?" Rivalz shouted.

Milly glared at him. "You didn't listen to the plan at all did you?"

* * *

A flight of _Sutherland_ and _Vincent Ward Air_ flew after the retreating _Glasgow_ and found groups of men milling about around the town centre.

"_Lord Lambert, enemy foot mobiles encountered at the town centre. They're behind a barricade."_

"No knightmares?"

"_No, my lord."_

They attacked in three divisions. The first was made up of a mix force of knightmares and APCs attacked from the north under a lieutenant colonel. The second and third was the bulk of the main attack with all of them being knightmares attacked from the north-east and south-west in a pincer move. They were led by a former army major and the Knights of St. Darwin respectively while Colonel Dante coordinate the forces from the air in his _Vincent Commander Model_.

The Knightmares moved in smashing into buildings and clearing the rooms with grenades and gun fire.

_Sutherlands_ smashed through the walls and sprayed their rifles into various rooms. Their officers in _Gloucesters_ led the assault, occasionally tossing chaos mines into thicker and larger buildings.

"_Clear!"_

The APCs drove in formation then spread out to different parts of the town and unloaded their cargo of heavily armed and armoured troopers to those that Knightmares cannot access.

The squads fanned out entering and blasting into rooms.

"_Breaching."_ A sergeant announced as he kicked the door down and sprayed his machine gun inside.

Others followed his example through other doors or sometimes just simply tossing a grenade in.

"_Clear in this floor, sir!"_

Two _Sutherlands_ entered the top of a building and scanned the area.

"_This sector is clear."_

"_Breached. Grenade!" _An explosion sounded in the room. "_Clear!"_

"_All clear here, sir!"_

Meanwhile, the Knights of St. Darwin too found nothing.

"Sir Guillemain, we've got nothing here!"

"The vermin are hiding..." The knight muttered.

The Knights were in customised _Wards_ and _Gloucesters_, the knight officer himself was in a _Vincent Commander Model_ though he kept the _Gloucester's _helm, gauntlets and lance_._ The machines were coloured white, gold trims with green cloaks and many of them wielding the longsword over the double bladed lance.

The purple _Sutherland_s and army knightmares broke through the buildings and blasting the rest of them.

One knight broke to the root and began to spray his surroundings with rifle fire. The white and gold knightmare then leapt to the nearest building, breaking his way with his lance.

"_Clear!"_

More knights entered the buildings but they too gain the same results.

"_Lord Lambert, everything is clear in the south."_

"Clear?" Lambert stared at the IFF screen. "What do you mean '_Clear_'?"

"_They're not here!" _Dante reported.

"_There's no one here!"_ An officer shouted.

"_They're like rats. Hiding in corners."_ Sir Guillemain commented.

The squads of confused troopers and knightmare frames moved on to the centre of the town, unsure of what they were to expect.

"Move cautiously, men." A sergeant told his men. "There might be traps."

Dante doubted it. Such mines and others would have likely been destroyed from the barrage and the ground was concrete with no way to plant mines and there were no sign of wires either and even if there were those traps would have been destroyed in the barrage.

The soldiers activated their HUDs to spot any hidden traps. Thermal was however unfortunately out of the question due to the intense heat of the desert.

A _Sutherland_ moved ahead of the squad moving rather carefully across them and taking point, its factsphere activated.

"_Nothing's on the reading, sir."_

"_Keep moving. They're likely to have fallen back to the main base."_ The knightmare pilot replied.

A second _Sutherland_ leapt forward with his slash harkens to one the higher buildings when a pair of slash harkens struck it mid-air, sending it crashing down.

"_Contact!_" The harkens returned to the owner into the windows of the building in question.

"_Enemy knightmare in sector C4."_

A red _Glasgow_ broke out of the floor and leapt into another building.

"After it!" Lambert shouted.

The rebel forces mobilized after it but the crimson machine suddenly turned and fired a barrage of sabot rounds at the chasing knightmares, taking out two then fired a grenade into the infantrymen.

The _Glasgow_ then headed deeper into the town.

"Enemy knightmare heading back. All forces make your way to the centre of the town. The hostiles likely to have taken refuge. Prepare of anti-knightmare combat."

"After them!" Lambert snarled. "All forces move in and attack. Finish them off!"

"_With all due respect, my lord," _Colonel Dante said. "_We have no idea what they've got in that town!"_

The nobleman snarled, in anger. "They're bloody peasants for goodness sake! You're knights aren't you?" He turned to Sir Guillemain and his pilots. "Get in there and butcher them like the sheep they are!"

"_With pleasure, my lord!"_

Lambert ignored the knight commander's glee and directed his forces in.

"His lordship's orders! Move in!"

The infantrymen ran and jumped through the buildings as their knightmare support followed.

"Sergeant, move your squad into the..." The _Sutherland_ leapt forward, breaking the electrical cable that was in the way between...And the ground exploded around the knightmare, blasting its entire side.

"Mines!" The infantry sergeant shouted only to be struck by one as well. The blasts continued around the town, spreading like wild fire, striking every position that the rebel forces were in.

"What..." Lambert gasped. Every unit in from the east and south were hit and on the map he saw the blast formed a complete circle on the town.

Sir Guillemain and his knights managed to avoid most of the explosions and took full advantage of it to move to the centre only to realise that the blast was not meant for them.

"In the name of..." The knight captain gasped as the building near them suddenly rocked and began to fall right on top of them. The impact triggered the ground to crack and collapsed sending all but one of the knights underground. Those who had fallen in were fortunate as the remaining knightmare was crushed between the ground and the falling debris.

Before they knew it, the town centre was surrounded by a makeshift trench and barricade against the invading forces.

Lambert however was a veteran soldier and quickly recovered. "All units report your status!"

The first response was from the north by a captain with the death of his commanding officer.

"_My lord, the blast took down most of our knightmares and a quarter of our infantry here but we can't pass through this route now. The entire path has blocked us from crossing."_

"_Sir,_" The major of the second force reported. "O_ur entire front row had been taken down but the road is still clear! We're moving in now!"_

There was no response from the Knights but the remaining army units blinked and reappeared on the IFF screen.

Lambert saw that the damage was less than he thought.

"Pull yourselves together!" He snarled on all channels. "You are the pride of the Britannia! Don't let this filthy peasants make monkeys out of you!"

His words had given the survivors the motivation they needed and they continued their advance.

* * *

**The North-East**

**Second Division**

The knightmares rallied under the command of their major who led them in a _Gloucester._

Sixty knightmares advanced down the lane and seeing the barricade made by the town's police, shouted their battle cry and charged.

The charge smashed the barricade a part killing trampling some of the policemen that were foolish enough to bar the way.

"To the centre! We'll end the resistance with this charge!" The Major shouted, waving his lance at the enemy lines.

The machines broke the defenders easily, killing them with their rifles or merely trampling them. However, as the attack reached the centre a strange energy wave swept pass them.

As if the Emperor had ordered them to stop, the knightmares pulled to a halt.

"What?" The Major suddenly found his _Gloucester_'s systems suddenly shut down.

Before they knew it, the entire force all sixty knightmares had lost power.

In his cockpit, the rebel officer heard a roar.

"ATTACK!"

* * *

**The South-West**

**Third Division**

"Pull yourselves together!" Captain Keen shouted to his surviving men. "We're still not out of this yet!"

A _Sutherland _near him suddenly recoiled and exploded.

The red _Glasgow_ reappeared and began to rain lead on them.

"Get him!" The captain shouted as a dozen knightmares returned fire.

The crimson machine however leapt back into his hiding place and retreated.

They gave pursue and suddenly found themselves under fire from down the street.

"Contact!" A soldier shouted as his machine too was riddled with bullets and exploded.

They were in open ground and the enemy was raining bullets down on them.

"Return fire!" Keen shouted to his men as he led his _Gloucester_ down to the front and sprayed the enemy ranks with his machine gun.

The bullets struck their lines but the fire continued. And only when the smoke began to fade did the captain saw what they were facing.

A phalanx of _Knight Police_ with riots shields and bustling with guns...

The _Sutherlands_ and _Gloucesters_ were far superior in performance but the defensive wall that the enemy completely took away their advantage in speed and strength.

"It worked!" A policeman cried out. Kallen was surprised. He used the same tactics from the second battle of Tokyo and used the underground train part they had found and used its engine to create a small Gejun Disturber.

Arthur's distribution of the forces was ingenious! He threw the bulk of the knightmares to the West while keeping none in the Gejun Disturber guarding it with only infantry. Leaving the path empty of knightmares tempted the rebels to attack with an all knightmare force without waiting for infantry support.

And took away half the enemy knightmare force with it.

Of course now, everything relied on them to hold off the upcoming infantry assault on the Gejun Disturber and while the Fallon's defenders outnumbered the infantrymen by a slight margin, the Britannian infantry was not an enemy to take lightly without support. Kallen had seen it for herself back in Japan.

So the Black knight commander and the _Knight Police_ now had to they can take out the enemy forces before the infantry could destroy the Gejun Disturber.

The greatest threat had been the Knights, whose _Vincents_ and _Wards_ were not only shielded from the Disturber but also due to the great difference in class. A single _Vincent Ward_ was capable of taking a dozen _Sutherlands_ and so Arthur dealt with them by throwing them down the old subway tunnel and dropping a building on them.

She watched the shield wall tearing apart the _Sutherlands_ who she had drawn into the kill zone.

Some tried to out flank the wall but the barrage was too hot for them to move and so most began to take cover.

A few of the reserve units seeing their front rank was being held turned back and tried to take the long way to find a weak point on the wall. They were heavily armed with cannon and sniper rifles.

"This Q-1. Enemy sniper and cannon units moving away from the main army."

"_Roger. We're ready."_

"Move in at my signal!"

Kallen leapt out of her hiding place and used her slash harken to swing herself to a taller building.

She leapt to the right and cut the reserve unit from the side, firing her grenade launcher at a cannon wielding _Sutherland_. The blast took the knightmare from the shoulder and half of its cockpit.

The half-Japanese woman did not stop and continued her advance firing her rifle and grenade launcher at them. She took down the sniper with a burst of rounds.

The third one turned his rifle but he was too slow and Kallen knocked the weapon aside with her slash harkens. The _Sutherland_ activated a stun tonfa and swung the weapon at the red _Glasgow_, which avoided the attack. Kallen then threw her machine at her attack and smashed her knee into the machine's head.

While Kallen was dealing with the three of them, the team leader: a _Gloucester_ brandished his lance at her and the rest of the squad turned their weapons on her.

The first sniper turned to her but before he could fire a _Knight Police_ frame slammed itself on him with the riot shield.

More _Knight Police_ joined in the fray from the sides, firing their assault rifles and machine pistols at them as them came.

The rebel leader swung his lance at one of the charging police frame and knocking it off balance but before he could make the final blow a white and blue _Gloucester_ with a red cloak lunged and buried the tip of his lance into his counterpart.

Withdrawing the weapon, the _Gloucester_ faced a cannon wielding _Sutherland_ and fired his slash harkens at the machine even as he sprayed his rifle at the others.

The remaining squad was easily dealt with by the _Knight Police_.

"You've done this before." Kallen said, observing the _Gloucester _pilot.

"_Aye. Been in France with the Imperial Dragoon Guard."_ Waltfeld replied. "_But we've got trouble now. More squads are heading here and it won't be long before the birds come in."_

Kallen grimaced. The main problem now was going to be the air force. A group of police pilots offered to sacrifice themselves using their gunships against the flying knightmares even though their chances were slim to none.

Kallen could only hope they last the next ten minutes...for Arthur...for Lelouch to unveil his next plan.

* * *

**North-East**

Lambert knew he had been doped but he was not a fool. The nobleman saw the enemy forces had divided his forces but they were severely outnumbered and outmatched and Lambert saw the gaps of their forces.

"All infantry units. Forget your previous orders. Move to the East! I repeat attack from the East! Dante, damn you! Where are you?"

"_We're being attacked." _The turncoat replied. "_Dozens of enemy gunships have ambushed us in the West."_

"They're just gunships, you fool! Quickly deal with them and support the East!"

"_My lord, this is Archer Two-One. We're met up with Two-two and Two-five and we're advancing on the East."_

"Proceed. I want some of you to head down from..." He checked the map for the underground entrance. "In sector C6, there's a sewer way. They have a Gejun Disturber underneath so destroy it."

"Alright, lads!" A sergeant shouted to his men through the radio. "For once the bloody knights need us more than anything else. Let's give these bastards a hand!"

The infantry advanced from the north, abandoning their knightmare attachments and the column headed straight down the main streets.

They were greeted with a sight that the Britannian military rarely faced: dozens of knightmares in the distance in the different streets and corners, standing motionlessly in the middle of a battlefield.

"Chalk 1, with me." An officer told them. "We're heading down. The rest of you bastards cover those knightmares."

"Yes, sir." The sergeants nodded and fanned out in their respective squads while the officer and his men headed to his designated coordinates.

"Switch to night mode." The soldiers activated their HUDs and continued their way through the underground.

"I can even smell the shit even with the mask." A soldier muttered.

"The stench of the impure..." Another muttered.

"Quiet." The officer snapped. "We're going to be cleaning it now."

"Sir, it's directly ahead." A soldier gestured the wall they were facing.

The rebel commander confirmed the report in his own sensors then nodded.

"Go."

The sergeant nodded. "Breaching." He planted an explosive on the wall then braced himself.

As if a knightmare had punched it, the wall scattered and fell and the soldiers stormed in with their rifles at the ready.

The officer charged in and was just aiming his carbine at his first target, a man in the blue and white uniform of the police when a metal container appeared in front of his HUD screen.

Suddenly, all their vision despite their helmets and visors was blinded.

"Kill the bastards!" A voice shouted and the rebels were suddenly under heavy fire from all sides.

Infantrymen despite their armour fell like flies, many dancing in the continuous barrage of bullets, ripping through their defences and meat.

The sergeant tried to rally the men but a well placed shot pierced his helmet and brains.

"To the sides!" The lieutenant had taken a several shots on his breastplate and shoulder with the latter bleeding.

He brought his carbine around and sprayed at one side where on the above floor were men in police gear and armed with assault rifles. The fire sent some of them down to cover but before he knew a heavy blow struck him from the side.

"Heavy troops!" One of the rebel soldiers shouted and the lieutenant saw a man in police armour and a visored helmet with a riot shield in one hand and a pistol in the other.

The pistol pointed at his face and fired.

Above them, a similar event occurred as the Fallon defenders reappeared and attacked the rebel troopers storming in.

The squad leaders had expected such random attacks and pulled themselves to cover and ready their grenades.

What they weren't ready for, was a spray of fire that rained down from above.

To the rebel infantry commander, a captain who was leading in the second Chalk of rangers and shock troopers into battle, it was like as if the defenders were pouring molten oil down a castle.

Using water cannons meant for riot control and arming them with petrol and lighting them with matches or other means, the improvised flamethrowers cooked the rebel soldiers in their own armour.

* * *

**South-West**

"Hold them!" The police commander shouted in the _Gloucester_ as the shield wall protected them from the military forces' superior fire.

The reinforced shields even shrugged off a cannon fire! Kallen felt the saw blow just glancing off the commander's shield. He turned and brought his assault rifle and fired at the astonished military fool, blasting his head and chest.

The shield wall had stopped the entire assault and the _Sutherlands_ were now being forced to take cover.

However, Kallen knew that the only reason why they managed to hold them was because they hadn't gotten the chance to throw chaos mines or use their cannons and sniper fire in concentration and that was due to the Knight of Two and her squad's constant raiding on the rebel forces.

Even now, Kallen in her red _Glasgow_ led the charge.

The half-Britannian raised her machine's assault rifle and sprayed slugs into the flanks of two _Sutherlands_ then swung her _short axe into the face of the armoured soldier._

_Behind her, the warriors astride their horses smashed into the ranks of Roman archers, breaking the hateful enemy apart with their weapons._

_One soldier, an officer with a halberd swung at her but the Pit warrior swung her horse aside where the blade missed her by inches. She then drew one of her daggers and leapt on the armoured soldier's back and buried it in..._the _Gloucester_'s back.

The blade pierced through the cockpit, killing the pilot.

"_Well done!"_ Waltfeld shouted to her. Kallen shook herself at the sudden change of vision.

_What was that?_ Kallen paused for a few seconds and observed the battle where see saw the slaughter of the heavy troops. The _Sutherlands_ with their heavy equipment struggled hard against their attackers who were armed with lighter weapons.

For a few seconds, the knightmares had turned to armoured soldiers armed with swords and bows.

Shaking her head, Kallen rejoined the fray.

She withdrew her dagger and switched back to her assault rifle entering a new clip.

"We need to fall back and recharge." They had sortie several times and knew that they needed to replenish their power. Thankfully, after Arthur's Gejun disturber had disabled the bulk of the enemy knightmare force, those machines that had gone pass their lines are now being salvaged by the infantrymen. The pilots would be thrown to the town jail and their machines to be brought out of the Gejun disturber's range for their own use, including their energy cells.

Kallen signalled Waltfeld who acknowledged and led his men back while she covered their rear.

The red _Glasgow_ fired a few bursts then launched her slash harken at one squad then followed the rest.

Then a _Sutherland_ broke through a building and swung his stun tonfa at her. Kallen, knowing that she could not dodge the blow she closed in and crossed her arms to block the tonfa arm then quickly switched her grip and threw the purple machine in a judo throw.

She even heard the unfortunate pilot scream in horror and shock as the machine fell in a metallic crush.

A second _Sutherland_ joined him this one with a lance. The silver spear came aiming towards her chest but the Black knight commander slide pass the thrust then used the lung's momentum to take the weapon for herself and drove the lance back into the owner's own chest.

"_Q-1, angle your slash harkens 45 degrees your right!"_ Lelouch's voice roared.

Kallen did not hesitate and did as she was told. She launched them both and they struck just above of a window on the fourth floor.

"_Turn left and get out of there!"_

She did and Kallen saw on her rear camera, two full squads of _Sutherlands_ and _Gloucesters_ after her when her slash harkens as if pulling a piece from a game of Jenga caused the entire building to collapse on those squads.

"Thanks." Kallen told him. "How are you holding up?"

"_The first wave is gone. But reinforcements are coming!"_ She heard gunfire in the background and screams of men in pain.

"Do you need me there?" She asked.

"_Negative. You need to reinforce the north. The survivors are trying to make their way through. Waltfeld and his men will stay with the wall. You need to prevent them from bring anything heavy to our units there."_

"Understood."

The battle was like and unlike that of Shinjuku. They were just as outnumbered like back then despite their slightly larger number and weapons. But then again, the Britannian forces had not been this large or this determined.

And of course, the other unpredictable factor of the battle...Back then it had been the white knight in the form of the _Lancelot_. Now it was a _bunch_ of white knights in the _Lancelot_'s inferior but no less deadly cousins.

* * *

A Fallon defender screamed as a burst of rounds pierced through his body. A rebel trooper lobbed a grenade into a window where it exploded with several shouts of pain. A second trooper rushed out with his gun blazing, taking out several defenders and rolled over to fallen debris for cover as the counter fire roared back.

The soldier used his HUD to measure the debris then readied his grenade and as he went to cover, a sniper round struck his helmet and brain.

Valois sighed in relief as the grenade rolled away from the defenders and exploded.

Despite the surprise and position that the Fallon forces held, the superior training and equipment of the rebel army was beginning to tell.

And even now, several rebel APCs were beginning to enter the area just away from Gejun Disturber field and emptying their cargos of fresh rebel troopers.

And worse were the constant artillery strikes that pounded hard on the defenders' position.

Fallon was in ruins and for Valois to see her home town in such state filled her with righteous fury and gratitude to Arthur and Kallen. She felt guilty over her initial impression of the two.

"Here they come again!" The police captain shouted over her radio and took down a rebel trooper.

The rebels, seeing the futility of their frontal assaults now switched to heavier weapons. Most of them took cover and concentrate their fire on the defenders while others with grenades and rocket launchers began to arrive.

One particular squad moved with a speed and professionalism that only veterans would have. Several of their members took position on the ground floor of one of the buildings while the rest went upstairs and blasted a hole in the wall of fourth floor allowing them to plant a heavy machine gun position.

The Fallon defenders began to panic and concentrated their fire on the position only to receive several rockets landing on them. Under the fire, the machine gun was quickly set up and poured lead on the defenders.

Under the cover of that barrage, many of the troopers renew their offensive. Valois saw the machine gun position and aimed and took down the main gunner but even as she aimed for the soldier's replacement, a round struck her helmet.

"Snipers!" One of the defenders roared as she too took cover.

Valois activated her radio. "Arthur! We're getting swarmed over here!"

He did not reply but Valois heard his voice below her and saw more defenders joining the battle.

"_Valois, pull out!"_ Kallen's voice shouted. And she saw a rebel trooper aiming a rocket launcher right at her.

The police captain could not bring her rifle in time to fire and she thought that she had died. Then she saw the trooper's weapon suddenly exploded in his face.

Valois blinked and saw a series of bullet striking the trooper.

Kallen arrived at her side.

"Are you alright?" The red haired woman asked as she checked Valois's wound.

"I'm fine." Valois was still stunned at her luck.

"It was Arthur's handy work." Kallen told her and the other woman just stared at her.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

The red haired woman grabbed a fallen rifle and fired. "Waiting for my knightmare to be repaired." She took down several troopers. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"Taking out gun position would be nice." Valois pointed at the machine gun position in the far building.

Kallen looked at it then nodded. "Done."

With almost superhuman speed, the red haired woman ran off. She ran upstairs and for a few moments Valois thought the Black knight was going to snipe them from above when she saw Kallen again running over the roofs.

"What in the name of..." Valois saw the Knight of Two running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop as if she was a knightmare herself.

There were rebel troopers on the roofs on the attackers' side and they turned startled to see the red haired woman in police uniform charging at them and firing as she did.

Kallen let her instincts guide her. She turned her rifle around to any moving target, locking each into her scope and pressed the trigger again and again. And each time was a burst of three to four rounds piercing through armour and flesh.

She fired and fired again as she ran across and by the time Kallen neared the machine gun position her rifle clicked.

A rebel trooper turned his carbine at her but the Japanese-Britannian woman tossed the empty thing at him and emptied two pistol rounds into his helmet. She turned her pistol on the few defenders and upon reaching the building she jumped over.

Valois watched in awe as Kallen landed behind the gun crew and emptied the rest of her pistol in its members.

There was a shout of triumph and the defenders surged forward against advancing enemy.

"Kallen, pull back!" Arthur's voice came into her ear piece. "You need to get back to your knightmare! Our gunships led their air force on a good chase but they're all dead now."

"You have a plan against them?"

"Lead them to Sector 6."

Kallen checked the position on her wrist watch, even as she covered her position for the defenders to take her place.

"Roger." She nodded to a visored defender and headed back.

* * *

At the shield wall, the situation too was beginning to look grim as the rebel forces were now just throwing chaos mines at them forcing the _Knight Police_ frames to pull back or risk engaging them head on.

And then the flights of aerial knightmares arrived shafting their positions with fire from the skies. Worse some of those knightmares were the advance _Vincent Wards_ and some with their blood red MVS blades swept over them like eagles over snakes.

One of the _Wards_ dove down with the MVS blade and thrust at a shield wielding _Knight Police_. The blade pierced through the shield and through its owner as well.

With the wall weakened, the _Sutherlands_ and _Gloucesters_ charged forward with their lances.

Waltfeld, rallied his squad and move in to strengthen the line knowing that they stood little chance against the combine air and land assault.

Kallen arrived just in time to see the onslaught and quickly threw her red _Glasgow_ on a building and signalled others to follow her example.

Using their higher position, they open up on the next wave of air knightmares. They succeeded in taking down the wave, _Vincent Wards_ and _Sutherlands_ fell down being filled with bullet holes.

However, it caught the attention of the other flights and they turned on them.

"Scatter! You know where to go!"

To Kallen it felt like the time, the resistance group was being chased by gunships. Volleys of bullets filled the air. A _Knight Police_ frame was struck down: a burst struck one landspinner sending the machine falling off the building.

Kallen turned around to fire a burst at a _Sutherland_ taking it down. In her red _Glasgow_, she was easily recognisable as a main threat by now and she had at least seven machines tailing her while others had a few behind them.

She prayed hard that the knightmare pilots wouldn't turn back to the shield wall and every time they seem to do so, she turn and fire. A round struck her torso but it was just a scratch. This had to work.

Now. She reached it.

"Arthur!" She shouted.

He seemed to be following her progress because his reply was instant.

"_NOW!"_ Like a swarm of bees, flights of plane shaped figures appeared from the windows. Armed with explosives, they headed to the aerial knightmares in suicide runs.

Kallen initially thought they'd use them for air cover but since their performance was pale in comparison to a knightmare and their armament so weak, Arthur decided to try something else. At this close range, the rebel air force could not pull out in time as the drones ran into them exploding. They found less than thirty drones but it was enough against the dozen of air knightmares.

It was true that they might be of better use against infantry but taking out the air force was the main concern.

The blasts startled the rebel forces and Kallen and the rest turned on the survivors with their rifles.

"That's the bulk of them!" Kallen breathed in but some remained and she saw that they were ignoring them.

At first she thought they'd head to the shield wall where a grim close quarter battle between the _Knight Police_ and the _Sutherlands_ was taking place.

Instead, they headed to the infantry battle. And Kallen also realised that all of them were _Wards_.

Knowing what they were planning, Kallen decided to take the risk.

She jumped across buildings to reach the flight's flank.

Aiming her rifle, Kallen began to fire at the _Wards_. She missed most of the shots, striking only one but it caught their attention.

"Dante!" Kallen shouted at their leader, a _Vincent Commander_. She was not sure if it was him but he pulled to a halt and signalled a _Ward _who then fired his slash harkens to take her out.

Big mistake. The Black knight had no idea if she could do this in a _Glasgow_ but she did it anyway. It seemed as if she was going to dodge the harken but instead she jumped on top of it and used her landspinners to move towards her target.

The _Vincent_ recoiled reflecting the pilot's shock. Kallen tossed her rifle away and drew both her _Knight Police _machine pistols. She fired not at the _Vincent_ but at his companions, aiming at the _Float System_s. Fortunately for her they seemed to have regarded that they were in no major threat and moved in close formation.

She sprayed wide with her machine pistols, aiming for their _Float_ _Systems_. The aerial knightmares recoiled from the gun fire, sending them dropping from the skies.

By the time several knightmares had been downed, Kallen was closing on the _Vincent Commander_ who was too stunned to react to her.

Taking advantage of it, she jumped and slammed a foot on the machine's _Float System_ and forgetting that she was several stories in the air, leapt again this time on a hapless _Vincent Ward_.

Throwing one pistol away, she drew one of knife and thrust the blade into the think area of the _Ward_'s cockpit to kill the pilot.

The purple machine shivered as the _Float System_ was only build to carry a single knightmare and they descended to the ground. The red _Glasgow_ ignored that and turned her remaining pistol on the remaining knightmares still in air and turned to fire a burst at their commander. A few shots struck the _Float System_ that send smoke out the _Lancelot_'s cousin back.

Seeing that her task on this air group was done, she leaned towards the nearest building so that the falling machine will move to that direction and jumped to its roof and landed gracefully.

No sooner than she did, her machine's energy screamed a warning no doubt due to her intense demand on the 5th Generation knightmare. Kallen herself could scarcely believe what she had done. If it had been the _Guren_ it would not had been so hard. Her old crimson comrade was both faster and stronger than the others.

Of course, the _Glasgow_ was much easier to operate compared to the other machine. Still what she did was not without risks especially against machines that were generations apart.

Regardless she did her duty and if her pounding heart and heavy breathing was not proof enough, it would be the cheers that erupted from the Fallon defenders.

Everyone in the town would have likely saw the action and now they cheered for her as Kallen turned to look.

The rebel knightmares especially those in the area suddenly lose heart.

"_Huzzah, for the lady!"_ Waltfeld's voice roared as the _Gloucester_ charged at a fallen _Ward_ smashing the machine back to the ground with his lance then buried its point in its chest.

_Knight Police_ now went on the offensive, taking the fight to the rebel army, smashing their shields and thrusting their combat knives into the ranks of _Sutherlands _and _Gloucesters_.

"_Well, done Q-1."_ Lelouch's voice returned. "_Pull back and refill your energy cell quickly. That was one hell of a fight. Glad to see your Japanese spirit is still alive after so much Britannian flop._"

Kallen was too tired to respond with a sharp comment and replied with a simple roger but she was happy all together.

She watched the remaining battle where the _Knight Police_ battled the enemy, firing random positions and blasting the air as well as random explosions and she knew that Lelouch had a hand in it.

* * *

**North-East**

The defenders managed to halt he assault. The destruction of their main air support seemed to have broken their spirit.

However, a desperate infantry commander was determined not to be humiliated by what the rebels deemed as impure and unworthy. He ordered all infantry reserves they had and throw them against the defenders.

This time however, he led the charge himself driving the APC in. Unfortunately for the defenders, the APCs were not powered by Sakuradite and hence the Gejun Disrupter was useless to them and with police weapons it seemed that the Fallon defenders had nothing to stop them with.

It was not without risks as the destruction of at least four APCs along the road would serve only to trouble the rebels as they'd block the way and give the defenders another barrier in which to defend.

So the rebel commander decided to launch a combine assault with both elements.

"Attack!" The APCs and infantrymen charged at the Fallon ranks head on ignoring their losses. The waves of infantrymen and armoured carriers smashed into the first ranks.

Valois saw the attack and knew they were in trouble.

"Fight on!" She shouted, wondering how they would counter this new assault. Their heavy barrage slowed the infantry assault but the APCs continued their charge, shrugging the small arm fire as if rain.

Then suddenly the lead APC's head exploded, followed by a series of small explosions. She was wondering where the attack was coming from when she saw a group of Fallon defenders in full armour wielding grenade launchers. But the shells were melting their armour.

"Where did they get thos..." Then she realised it.

Arthur had gathered the knightmare's sabot rounds and redistributed them to the infantry where they used the rounds on their grenade launchers which was normally used for firing tear gas grenades.

"This guy..." Valois shook her head in amusement. "All right, everyone! Provide cover for those boys! Don't let the bastards get a single scratch on them!" She took aim with her sniper rifle and fired at an infantryman firing on the grenadiers.

The attack destroyed the first two APCs in a line and the others began to withdraw knowing that they would end up blocking their own way to the attack.

However, the way to the underground was now back in rebel hands and more infantrymen stormed in for another assault on the Disturber.

Then suddenly, one APC smashed its way through the bodies of its knock out comrades. It took the grenade blasts without giving an inch and ran over both rebel and defender alike. It headed right towards the barricade.

"STOP THAT BASTARD!" Valois screamed but despite the fire it continued and at this rate it would serve as a mobile bomb into the defenders' ranks. And then it happened. From out of nowhere a huge police motorcycle suddenly appeared in the air in full speed. On it was a blue haired youth dressed in the police uniform.

"Rivalz!?" Arthur's voice suddenly shouted from somewhere. "NO!"

Valois realised the youth was going for a suicide run on the burning APC.

He landed on the ground and drove towards the charging vehicle in full speed.

"For...Nuna...Empre...Ah screw this! AHHHHHHH!" Valois saw a figure in full police armour with a red sash, running across the side vainly. It was Arthur.

Rivalz continued dodging debris and dead bodies along the road his skilled driving skills allowed him to avoid them easily.

Just before he reached the APC, he pulled the brakes and leapt off it. The speeding bike smashed into the APC to deliver the final blow finally destroying the damn thing. The remaining pieces reached the barricade at the speed but it did little harm.

The former student council president bounced several times as he landed on the sidewalk. Rivalz screamed as he felt a crack in one of his arms.

A heavy boot suddenly kicked him across sending his rolling and on his back.

"DAMN YOU!" An electronic voice suddenly snarled and stepped on his stomach, knocking all the air out of his stomach.

"You're going to pay for that!" The rebel said and aimed his pistol when there was a shout and the officer turned to see the police and other defenders charging out from the barricade. Many of the police had little ammunition left so they fired the remaining rounds in their guns then charged in for close quarters.

A police officer in full riot gear drew out an extendable baton and smashed it across an infantryman's face breaking the visor and his nose. Another ran into a soldier with his riot shield then brought the shield's edge down hard on his unprotected throat.

The rebel commander seeing that they had little other choice of action signalled to pushed on, to meet the attack. Some officers and men drew short sabres and combat knives but others were content to fire point blank range.

The officer remembered the worm he had and was about to pressed the trigger when he felt a shadow over him and turned to see an armoured figure with a red sash on his waist leaping forward and died as the man's sword cut through him.

* * *

Kallen had quickly replaced her power cells and rejoined the battle. By now, the reserves on both sides were being thrown in.

"They're breaking through!" A Knight Policeman shouted, as the rebel forces were literally throwing every chaos mine they possessed. The wall had broken and _Gloucesters_ charged into the individual knightmares skewering them with their lances.

"Hold the line!" Kallen shouted as she fired her rifle at some of those _Gloucesters_. Waltfeld's squad was already plunging the gap but as they did more and more forces were coming from the sides and this time they did not hesitate to use their heavy weapons.

And the artillery barrages were becoming more intense sometimes they hit their own side as well.

"_Kallen! Milly here! Those shots have caused cave ins here in the tunnels. Unless, you win up there we're trapped!"_

The Black knight cursed. This was not looking good. Many of their knightmares are destroyed and now even the _Sutherlands_ that had been disabled by the Gejun Disturbers and commandeered and sent out to the knightmare zones. They had managed to get at least a dozen that had gotten too close to their lines but the most of them had been recovered by the rebel infantry and once they manage to destroy the disturber the rebels would swarm over them like ants over a beetle.

Kallen was thinking of a reply when she heard a voice. It was coming by radio and to all channels.

"_Greetings, People of Britannia, I, Nunnally vi Britannia, Empress of Britannia would be grateful to have your attention for the next few minutes."_

"Nunnally?" Arthur seemed to have grasped it too as she heard someone broadcasting the message through the entire town.

* * *

**Imperial Palace, New Pendragon**

"This message is for everyone who have called and pledge this great nation its allegiance, regardless of your nationality, your blood or your status."

Nunnally faced the population of Pendragon and with the cameras the whole Empire. Suzaku stood by her right with General Alexandros while Guilford and Claudio Dalton stood on her left.

"I did not ask to be on this throne. It was given to me through blood. I had lost my entire family to darkness. Even my dearest kin." Her voice quivered at the mention of her brother. The Japanese knight gave her a squeeze of encouragement on her hand below the balcony.

"But here I am. And I am determined to see to rebuilding our torn world."

"_Some of you believe that I am destroying Britannia in my new policies. It was against the warrior culture that of our great nation was built on."_

The _Knight Police_ commander charged into a _Sutherland_ with a shield, knocking off balance. More _Knight Police_ joined in the assault firing their machine pistols with their shields locked. A rebel _Gloucester_ charged into the line with his lance lowered and swung it at the shields to break the wall but two pairs of slash harkens fired out behind the wall, knocking its head and arms off.

"_Why choose peace and coexistence? Why ally ourselves with these lesser beings? Our mortal enemies?"_

Some rebel soldiers however stopped firing to listen to her.

"_After all, it was only when the Home Islands fell to Napoleon did the true potential of the Britannia appeared. That is what many say on those sides. If that is the view, then it seems that, yes, I am bringing Britannia to ruin."_

She paused, closing her eyes sadly.

"_But, I will ask this question to each and every one of you now: Is this the same world? Is this the same world that the Tudors had built from the British Isles?_"

Kallen was firing at some of the rebel forces, taking down several knightmares when suddenly some of the enemy stopped firing.

"_Are we the same people that fought during those revolutions, against tyranny? My father and many before him believed in the Survival of the Fittest. And we have seen the results of it."_

Rivalz watched as Arthur turned about and hacked a rebel soldier then thrust his sword into the second soldier chest. The red knight then pulled Rivalz up from the ground and carried him to shelter.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" He asked angrily.

"Trying to act cool?" The blue haired youth gave him a weak smile in the mist of the pain.

Arthur didn't know whether to laugh or be angry at that.

"_Britannia had become great, indeed. But is that all we are? Is that all we are capable of? Are we like the animals as St. Darwin summarized doomed to be in the cycle of kill or be killed and evolve stronger from it? Is this the only way to evolve?"_

Waltfeld swung his lance to block the rebel's thrust then shove the other _Gloucester_ back. He counter-thrust, then swung the pommel then thrust again. The rebel parried the latest attack and launched his slash harkens at police chief who deflected both with his lance then swung the golden weapon again but lowered it as it came sweep the rebel off his feet.

Spinning his weapon, Waltfeld delivered the coup de grace and thrust down.

"_So you want to know the answer? Is there any other way? I don't need to tell you the answer. I merely ask you to look at the events that had occurred after the Zero's return."_

Valois fired her last shot with her sniper rifle before tossing the useless weapon away and drawing both her revolvers and joined in the fray. She saw Arthur dancing around with the sabre and pistol, cutting and shooting his way into the grey ranks.

She fought her way towards him. A rebel soldier fired at her but she was quick and emptied two rounds into his helmet. Another got too close for comfort and Valois threw a kick into the soldier's chest then emptied another round in his face.

"_United together, Britannian, Europeans, Asians, Africans, Numbers, Nobles and Commoners, Purebloods and new bloods, we had rebuild half of what was destroyed in less than a year."_

Arthur in his armour and red sash around his waist seemed wielding a sword seemed like one of those warrior from the legends. Now he was facing a group of rebels who charged at him. He was holding his pistol by the barrel and smashed the black and gold weapon into the soldier's face stunning him then brought his sword around to cut him down. The Red Knight then swung his sword again cutting a rebel across his chest then smashed his pistol to send the man back down.

By the time she reached him, he spanned his pistol back by the handle and was firing at some rebels in the distance.

"Impressive." Valois commented as she added her weapons into the barrage. "You weren't kidding when you said you were a knight."

Arthur made what seemed like a scoff under the visor. "You're not bad yourself. Rather fight beside you than against you."

The police captain laughed. "Not too long. I don't want to be a cause for competition."

The red knight gave her a glance of confusion before returning fire.

"_That is what we can do. That is what we are capable of! That is what awaits us! We're rebuilding a new world! This world has had enough of its blood. Blood can spill again another century but not now. And together we are stronger than ever. Compassion, friendship, kinship versus Ruthlessness, hatred, betrayal which one I ask you. Which one has given you more? This is the future I envision."_

A rebel _Gloucester_ suddenly swung his lance between two _Knight Police_ shields, sending both flying back then signalling its _Sutherland_ companions breached in with their stun tonfas. As the _Gloucester_ turned, it faced a charging red _Glasgow_ which leapt and slammed a kick square in its chest. The blow sent the purple machine crashing into the ground.

Kallen then fired both her slash harkens into the next two _Sutherlands_ then banked right to climb between the buildings with her landspinners even as she fired down with her rifle.

"_Even as now I fight this civil war, I do not fight it with hatred, I and those of my knights and those who champion me fight with compassion and honour for those who cannot fight. You may argue that our persistence is what will get our people killed."_

Suddenly, the ground shook slightly away from the fighting. Then as if a volcano had erupted, the floor exploded. From the smoke, several white and gold _Vincent Wards_ and _Gloucesters_ with plums in on their heads leapt out from the ground.

Their green cloaks bellowed as the knights waited for their commander who in the heavily customised _Vincent_ _Commander_ appeared.

"NO ONE MAKES A FOOL OUT OF ST. DARWIN! NO ONE!"

The Knight-Captain's machine's eyes glowed green.

"Slay them! KILL THEM ALL! IN THE MEMORY OF EMERPOR CHARLES!"

The knights charged.

"But your world will harm those who cannot fight those hapless as I once been! Well, if that is something to be trapped in forever then I will prove you wrong!" With that she suddenly tried to stand.

"Majesty!" Zero and the other commanders rushed forward to help but she raised a hand to stop them.

She struggled to stand up then fell. The crowds gasped as her guards try to help her but Nunnally waved them off.

"Leave me!" She said in her commanding voice. The Britannian Empress then continued her attempt slowly. The crowds watched with a mix of awe, fear and sympathy at her. She grabbed hold of the balcony first then stood. She tested her strength then let go.

For a second it looked as if she would fall again but she stood firm, standing proud.

"People say I am a cripple...that I could never stand again..." The crowds cheered for her at that.

"So I ask you now! Fight with honour! Fight with compassion! Fight for the Future! For Britannia!"

Arthur raised his sword. "FOR BRITANNIA! FOR THE EMPRESS!"

The Fallon defenders picked up the cry and continued the battle with renewed fury.

Many rebel soldiers looked confused and fell to the onslaught. Some surrendered when the police forces reached them.

On Kallen's front, an entire squad of _Sutherlands_ surrendered.

"_We yield to the Empress."_ Their commander replied, dropping their weapons.

Their surrender caused a chain reaction with many more lowering their weapons. Others however, of course fought on. They were soldiers. They picked up the sword and would die by the sword.

Before Kallen could give a reply to the surrendering troops, figures in green, white and gold suddenly appeared.

_Vincent Wards_ and _Gloucesters_ swept pass them skewering and slashing everything in their way.

Two _Wards_ jumped from a building then zooming pass the shield wall in their high speed. Wielding their MVS double lances and assault rifles, they broke the line with ease. A _Knight Police_ locked his shield and fired at one _Ward_ but the knight was too fast and dodged all the bullets with ease and leapt behind another _Knight Police_ firing his rifle as he went pass from behind.

A second _Ward_ lunged at the first _Knight Police_ swinging his crimson blade. The Police blocked with his shield but knight reverse swing his blade and knocked the shield aside then thrust the blade into his chest.

The Knight _Gloucesters_ followed the _Wards_ thrusting their golden lances at anything in their way.

"_Kill them all!"_ One gold and white _Gloucester_ thrust his lance at such a speed that it pierced one _Knight Police_ through the shield and body with one go.

"Fall back!" Waltfeld shouted, even as he clashed with another _Gloucester_.

A squad of commandeered _Sutherlands_ moved in to cover their retreat when a lithe figure suddenly jumped out of nowhere firing his rifle into the leading machine as it did.

It landed behind the bullet ridden _Sutherland_ just when it exploded. The explosion caused the machine's green cloak to dance in the impact and revealed it as the Knight Commander's customised _Vincent_.

The squad recovered and open fired but the _Vincent _pulled out his double bladed lance and charged, fixing the blades as he did.

Despite their courage, they were completely outclassed by the _Lancelot_'s cousin and Sir Guillemain dodged the gun fire at ease throwing himself into the squad and ripped them to shreds in a whirling blade storm.

He severed the first one in half with a single stroke and continued the swing to cut the rifle of the second one even as he used the rear blade to thrust into a third. The knight captain brought the blade back out to give an upper handed swing on the next one, cutting it diagonally across the body.

The last _Sutherland_ retreated as it fired but Guillemain was not in the mood for mercy. The impure scum launched both his slash harkens at the last minute but the knight officer caught them both with his blades and used his needle blazer and punched a hole into the machine's chest.

"All _Wards_ to the North-East! Destroy the Disturber! The rest of you push these insolent animals back!"

The knights roared in acknowledgement.

It had looked so simple. This impossible battle had looked as if it was actually going to be won. The rebel troops had been on the verge of being broken. The air support broken to a handful of knightmares flying about like flies. The shield walls had held. The infantry barricade too as well despite all odds.

Then the Knights reappeared and threw a monkey's wrench into all their plans.

Like the way how Suzaku leapt in with the _Lancelot. _It was exactly like Shinjuku. And that was where the white knight almost killed Lelouch and it was only her timely intervention that managed to save him.

At the time, she had tried to stop the white monstrosity in an old _Glasgow_ with a single slash harken and a single arm.

And now Kallen was here in another old _Glasgow_ and faced a dozen rampaging Knights in highly advance machines.

The former Black knight watched the white and green figures smashing through their lines. For a moment, she stood in despair. How was she going to stop a dozen _Lancelot_s with a...

Kallen shook her head as if to clear those thoughts physically. She had been Lelouch's best soldier above all. And she would face any odds for him.

She readied her knightmare then leapt into the fray.

The Knights had smashed through the defensive lines and the bulk of the knightmare force. The _Wards_ passed their command centre leaving the remaining defenders to their _Gloucesters_.

These machines had been shielded from the _Disturber_ so the knight commander was going to smashed it first then rally those remaining knightmares and take the city.

The _Wards_ had appeared behind the infantrymen even as the rebel troopers had retreated. The Knights of St. Darwin fired indiscriminately, shooting, hacking and running over men on both sides.

It looked as if the knights would simply just go in and destroy the _Disturber_ when the white and green machines came under fire.

"Concentrate all fire on them!" Arthur shouted out.

They took all the grenade launchers and rockets that the rebel infantry had left behind and turned them on the knights.

A few _Wards_ were taken down by a concentration of sabot rounds. However, the knight commander in the customised _Vincent_ entered and physically cutting through the fire teams with his MVS leaving severed bodies and limbs on the walls.

"_Gnats!"_ Sir Guillemain cursed as he stepped to a policeman. "_Nothing but gnats!"_

The _Vincent_ activated his needle blazer and then slammed it right on the ground allowing him to enter the tunnel hosting the _Gejun_ _Disturber_.

"_Ingenious! I'll give you that! But it has all been for naught. It will be as St. Darwin dedicated."_ The Knight Captain faced a hail of bullet fire from the last defenders. He pulled his MVS blade back and gave a broad swing, cutting the Disturber and the men defending it in a single blow.

"_The Disturber is gone! Take the city!"_ Lambert's voice roared.

At once, all the _Sutherlands_ and _Gloucesters_ that had been sitting around the entire battle came back to life.

"NO!" Kallen shouted. _I'm too late_. She saw the purple machine suddenly moving again.

"_This is Arthur Peregrine! All forces move and engage the enemy on the barricade. I repeat, all forces move to the barricade."_

She saw on her IFF screen that all remaining troops on the battlefield were moving to the infantry barricade. It was littered with human bodies and now robotic ones will join them.

Kallen saw one knight spraying his rifle into several squads of Fallon police. The white and gold _Ward_ was switching his aim when Kallen slammed into him. Aware of the technological differences between the two, she attacked again relentlessly. She threw in punch after punch at the _Ward_ aiming at the cockpit to imbalance the pilot inside.

She grabbed the knight's head and smashed her knee into his face then launched both her slash harkens at point blank range.

The harkens took his right arm and left leg, sending the machine off its feet.

Kallen had just taken him down when a second knight leapt in and swung his sword at her. This one wore a blue plum on his head and wielding a _Lancelot-_style long sword like the _Gloucesters_. He thrust at her and slashed again each blow Kallen just being able to avoid them.

A third knight joined in this one with the more traditional MVS double bladed lance. This one launched his slash harkens at her first. She dodged the first one but the second gave her a glancing hit along the arm that sent her back. The blue plum swung his sword again then kicked her in the groin with such a force that her systems momentarily flared a warning.

She recovered herself and faced the knights who readied their swords at her. Kallen activated both her daggers and readied herself in combat stance.

The knights charged at her. The swordsman swung first which she dodged then she parried the lancer's swing. They punched and kicked at her but Kallen's red _Glasgow_ reacted to her commands as if it was her own body and avoided them.

Then both knights brought their blades together, one from the side and the other from above. In her _Glasgow_'s speed she wouldn't have made it so she went down on one knee and launched both her slash harkens to the ground as she jumped back giving her the momentum and power to avoid them both.

The move startled the two and it gave her the time to attack. She charged back into them and hurled one of her knives into the lancer's chest then physically slammed herself into his companion.

The bash sent the blue plum knight off his feet and Kallen slammed her remaining dagger into the joint between his chest and torso, right where the Sakuradite was.

Pulling the blade back out, Kallen turned and send one leg out to sweep the other knight then pushed the impaled knife deeper into his chest.

Even if her machine was till powered, those movements had took its toll on her body. The _Glasgow_ was not made from the same calibre of her beloved _Guren_ in terms of performance so she had to move with greater effort and it tired her.

She saw a few more knights heading towards her. One lowered his lance and charged and Kallen was not sure if she could avoid the blow.

Before the golden lance could reach her, a white and blue shape appeared and slammed the _Gloucester_ against the wall. The _Knight Police_ pulled back and smashed his shield against the knight again.

More _Knight Police_ joined in and was even joined by _Sutherlands _and _Gloucester;_ these were blue- white and wore the red cloaks of the town's defender.

"_Get these knights out of my town!"_ Waltfeld's voice shouted.

"_Push them back!"_ Arthur's voice came. A black and gold _Gloucester_ with red shoulder guards joined in followed by two more _Gloucesters_.

The ebony machine thrust his lance into a St. Darwin _Ward_'s chest then pulled it out to parry a sword swing.

"_My lady, are you alright?"_ Two _Knight Police_ arrived at her side.

"I'm fine! Go! Join the attack!" Kallen took one of the fallen knight's swords and leapt into the fight.

Arthur shoved his opponent then buried the point of his lance into him. He knew that the debris was not going to hold those knights forever but he had hoped to defeat the main rebel force before they break free.

So he was forced to release his last reserve for knightmares most of the defenders' _Gloucesters_.

With the _Gloucesters_, the slaughter had turned into a grim struggle but the rebel forces were still holding the upper hand.

The main problem was the St. Darwin knights. For every knight they kill, they'd lose three and if it goes the rebel army would swarm over them even after all the knights were killed.

So Arthur needed to face their commander. Sir Guillemain was a notorious zealot to Emperor Charles but he was also known for his pride as a knight. If he could force the knight captain to face him in a formal duel, then it would prevent the other knights from facing Kallen and the others.

After all, it was punishable by death to interfere with a knight's duel in old Britannia. They'd even disobey Lambert's orders to do it. He had to gamble on the knight captain's ego and his knights' urge to see their commander duel rather than to do their own killing.

So Arthur looked around for the knight commander and found him facing two _Gloucesters_ and three _Knight Police_. The latter two were down already. Guillemain parried a lance thrust from one of them even as he slammed a kick into a _Knight Police_ and then turned about to behead both of them with a single swing.

"_You'll pay for that, you damn bastard!_" Waltfeld's voice suddenly roared and the blue and white _Gloucester_ charged in with his lance lowered and holding a shield on the other arm.

The knight captain laughed and tossed his double bladed lance away. Waltfeld sped up and close in but Guillemain was too fast. The _Vincent_ side stepped the thrust and moved away. The gold and white machine returned and used the momentum to throw a powerful kick into his shield.

The blow sent the police chief sprawling on the ground. The knight commander closed in and slammed his needle blazer down on the shield.

The energy blast pierced through the shield and into Waltfeld himself.

"GUILLEMAIN!" Arthur shouted, not sure whether his rage was for Waltfeld's death or his disgust for the ruthless knight. He threw his lance at the knight commander's feet.

_I have to make this look formal and stylish._ "I, Sir Arthur, Knight of Britannia and of House Peregrine challenge you to a single combat!" He slapped one hand at his crimson cloak to add to the theatrics.

The other knight looked at him as if he could not believe his eyes and for a moment, Arthur that the zealot would refuse when he heard a deep laugh.

"_So you're the infamous Red Knight."_ The knight captain's voice returned. "_Though your armour seems more black than red. I have heard of you."_

Guillemain waved his fellow knights down. "_It was said that you led the victory at New England and again at Richmond_. _And that you were the Demon Emperor's reincarnation. Ha! If you are than I as a holy knight, shall have to smite you in St. Darwin's name! Very well, I accept your challenge. Since my knightmare has the technological advantage, I shall allow you to state the rules of combat._"

"Single weapon set only and without landspinners." Arthur disabled his landspinners and stood on his two feet. Without the landspinners, however that mobility would be seriously compromised especially to Arthur's fighting style. However, it would also take away the _Vincent_'s superior mobility.

The battle would solely rely on the pilot's skills with the weapons and fighting prowess.

"_HA! HAHA! Fighting on your own two feet huh? Good! I like it!"_ Guillemain did the same. "_Weapon?"_

"Long sword and shield." Arthur grabbed a fallen _Knight Police_'s riot shield.

"_Very well. Lieutenant, give him your sword!"_ One of the _Vincent Wards_ unsheathed his long sword and tossed it to Arthur. He caught it and brandished the weapon as the blade turned deep red.

"_These will be mine!_" The Knight of St. Darwin picked up his double bladed lance and took a second long sword from his men.

It looked like a strange and clumsy weapon set but Arthur knew better than to doubt this man. He was dealing with one of the Empire's best fighters even if they were in the same machine.

"_Arthur, what the hell are you doing?"_ Kallen's voice came from a secured channel.

"Giving you time to deal with the rebel army. I'll keep these idiots busy. They can wipe us all out by themselves and they know it that's why they're accepting this. Use this time to fight the rebel army off, if I win these knights might even yield. If I don't, you'll have time to get the civilians out."

"_Let me fight him."_ She insisted.

"No. You're the best chance these people have. You need to face the rebel army. Go help them. These events have convinced me that what you've said is true. You've gain my trust. So please, I ask you, Kallen. For what Lelouch died for, lead these people!"

With those words, he closed the channel saw Guillemain whirling both his blades.

The Knight of St. Darwin leapt and Arthur swung his sword to meet him.

* * *

**Phew! So long...Sorry for the cliff hanger. Haha realised that the battle needed to be extended to another chapter. Don't worry. I'll update quicker this time. ;)**


	24. Chapter 9: Lelouch Revertetur

**OK! Forgive me for any of the mistakes down here. I just started uni classes so did it in a rush. Please let me know anything wrong and I'll correct them later when I get the chance. As promise, WFC continues on!** **Will be returning to work and finish My Queen. Hopefully I can give the grand finale by the end of this year. I am grateful to those still reading this slow and old fanfic. I appreciate your faithfulness and so I have a surprise for you at the end of this chapter.**

* * *

**Encrypted Transmission:**

**_From Richmond, Duchy of Virginia_**

**_Holy Empire of Britannia…_**

**_To Tokyo,_**

**_United States of Japan…_**

_"Senator Ryoma."_

"What did you find at Peregrine Manor, captain?"

_"Nothing."_

"Then why are you disturbing me? I asked you find evidence."

_"That is the evidence."_

"Nothing is the evidence?"

_"Yes, Senator. Arthur Peregrine does not exist."_

* * *

Kallen leapt forward on an unsuspecting _Sutherland_ and brought her sword down and vertically cut the machine down then she brought the blade back and swung again across the torso of his comrade.

Arthur…Lelouch trusted her. Finally trusted her. She could not fail him.

She left both machines neatly severed in two.

"Everyone push them back! Keep up the pressure!" Kallen shouted on the comms even as she grabbed a fallen assault rifle with her other hand and empty some of the clips.

The Fallon defenders fought desperately to prevent the balance from changing. Even with many of the rebel forces surrendering, the formidable number of them still stands.

A rebel knight, one of the St. Darwins who arrived after the duel commence was trying to rally the survivors and Kallen knew he had to die.

The battle had now dragged to at least 3 hours of nonstop fighting and the low ammunition on both sides was almost gone. The rebel army had been expecting to face a handful of police and a large number of non-combatants so did not brought enough ammunition to last this long while the defenders merely had little.

Hand to hand fighting seems more prominent now amongst both knightmares and infantry. Too many of the defenders lay dead or dying.

The rebels were better trained but the defenders were fighting for survival. Grim fighting was everywhere. Townsfolk were joining in the battle on their own initiative.

A rebel soldier sprayed what remained of his rifle clip at the charging defenders before being engulfed by a mob and torn into pieces.

Valois fired her last pistol round then flung it at a rebel's face stunning the man. She leapt at him and proceeded to beat the soldier to death with her baton.

A blood covered female knightmare pilot swung an officer's sabre at her, catching the police captain's back. Fortunately, it merely scratched her armour and did not touch her spine. Still the impact knocked her back.

The police woman threw a kick at the pilot catching the other woman's stomach. As Valois turned to face her, the rebel swung again. The blow was clumsy as if it weren't, Valois would have lost her head. Instead it cut across her forehead and sending blood tickling down her face. Becoming partially blinded, the police woman swung her baton wildly. She caught the sword's blade and swung it hard again, this time striking and possibly breaking the rebel officer's wrist.

Blood was now in her eyes so Valois roared and crashed into the screaming woman and fell down together in a bloody mess on the dusty floor, wrestling to the death.

Kallen knew that they won't last if the rebels don't retreat soon so she decided to take down all their surviving officers first.

She fought through the heavy melee, aiming and firing at any colours that weren't blue and white. A few came too close and for those she severed with her sword.

One of them, a _Gloucester_ was just pulling out a blooded lance from a _Knight Police_ when Kallen slammed her blade through his chest.

She used the momentum of her charge to move pass, pulling the blade out at the same time. The_ centurion gasped for blood and fell beside his kill._

_Another legionnaire threw his pilum at her but she dodged the javelin and swung neatly beheading the man. Bloo-_sparks flew from the headless machine as the cockpit ejected.

Kallen blinked hard. _I'm losing my marbles._

A _Sutherland_ lunged at her with a silver lance, hoping to skewer her as she came but Kallen had slowed down right on time and she cut the lance with the MVS and through the machine too.

A St. Darwin _Ward_ suddenly appeared at her flank and swung his MVS at her. The swing took her rifle away but Kallen thrust her sword into his torso as he did that.

However, another knight swung a double bladed MVS at her and she had to let go of her sword to avoid the swing in time. The _Ward_ was way superior than her _Glasgow _but the knight had none of the ferocity that Kallen had.

She punched the plumed knightmare in the face then another two into his chest and torso and kneed him in the face to make it count. The Black knight took a piece of the severed lance and rammed it hard in his chest.

Now she spotted another officer, St. Darwin _Vincent Commander_. The machine was flanked by two _Wards_ who were wreaking havoc on the defenders.

As she got close, one of the knights neatly severed a _Knight Police_ in half then knocking two more out with slash harkens.

The commander spotted her as Kallen took back her sword. He signalled his companions even as the Knight of Two began her advance.

The two _Wards_ moved to meet her charge head on. They came fast using their superior speed and agility leaping with lightning reflexes, expecting to take her out quick and fast.

_These Britannians have no imagination._ Kallen thought as the first knight came within range.

Kallen launched her slash harkens and the knight dodged them but she wasn't aiming for him or his companion but at the building beside them.

She quickly retracted the cables, activating her landspinners at the same time, giving her the much needed speed to avoid the sword blow and as she went pass the knight, Kallen swung hers. Blood red blades cut through the _Ward_'s sword arm with such an impact that the machine was send stumbling out of control.

The other knight was stunned to react to her move and when she reached the building she kicked against the wall and lunged on the _Ward_. The knight, to his credit raised his blade to block but the crashing impact of Kallen's fall and swing knocked the blade down and broke his guard and neatly severing the machine from head to torso.

She had taken down two knights in a few moments but a third knight, their leader came charging in and landed a powerful kick into her.

It was strong enough to send her back crashing but Kallen quickly readjusted her _Glasgow_'s systems to brace the impact and she was able to land on her feet.

The knight officer fluttered his cloak and combined his swords into double blade mode and lunged. He came in like a blade storm but Kallen moved out of his range which prompted him to strike with the needle blazer.

The energy discharge missed her and Kallen swung her sword to meet his with a block. The knight shifted his leg so he could bear the rear blade to cut her leg but he moved a bit too slow as Kallen launched her slash harkens in his face then cut the machine's arm off.

She grabbed the severed arm and swung it at the knight's legs causing him to fall to one knee. Kallen then brought her sword down and thrust into his chest.

Withdrawing her blade, she saw some of the Fallon knightmares taking down some rebels.

"Push them back! Drive them out of the town!"

_"FOR FALLON!"_

The red blades clashed together again, the friction between vibrating molecules sending sparks around them.

The silver and gold machine shoved Arthur back and struck with his other blade. Arthur brought his shield up and blocked the slash then countered.

The _Vincent_ was not the _Lancelot_ nor was the knight Suzaku Kururugi but it didn't take long for him to realise that he was losing. Sure, he had beaten Guilford who was a far greater fighter than this zealot but they have been fighting on the same platform.

The _Gloucesters_ was the most advance machine they had and still it was nothing compared to the _Lancelot_ series.

The speed and the flexibility of the newer machine would have overwhelmed him time and time again. Sir Guillemain seemed to be like a tornado of blades and every step close to him seemed to be like a machine barrage of sword blows.

However, the knight's choice of duel wielding a long sword and a double bladed lance meant that he was expecting a quick fight. The choice was also difficult to block and that meant Arthur had to take the offensive.

So when the next blow came, the black and red _Gloucester_ swung with the shield, parrying the double bladed lance then swung low with his sword which the other knight met with his own long sword.

Arthur quickly released the swing and thrust forward but Guillemain managed to dance back at the last minute.

To his surprise, the other knights and soldiers were singing so ready for victory.

_ "We'll drive out the Black knights_

_And restore what we own_

_With blood and our steel we'll take back our home"_

The singing seem to encourage Guillemain who re-joined the duel with furious blow that took half of his riot shield.

_"Down with the demons, the betrayers of kins!_

_On the day of your death, we will drink and we sing_

_We're the children of Eowyn and we fight all our lives_

_And when Avalon beckons, every one of us dies…"_

Arthur scoffed at the hypocrisy at the lyrics as he slammed his shield into his opponent. The other knight struck him with another kick that unbalanced him though not enough to knock him down.

_"But this land is ours, and we'll see it wipe clean of the_

_Scourge that has sullied our hopes and our dreams!"_

Arthur tried to regain his posture but the other knight came back with a vicious swing that sent his whole machine shaking despite the successful parry.

_You're going to die._ His mind told him. _You are going to die for bitchy Black knight who betrayed the Emperor?_

Despite the words, Arthur knew in his heart he did not regret it. He had meant what he said to Kallen. He trusted her. Perhaps he did more than he realised it.

Something about her. There was a connection between her and Lelouch. Perhaps…At least he had done his duty…

_NO!_ What was he thinking? If that was the case, how could he abandon her now? Lelouch wanted him to protect her in his stead. There was still Nunnally too. No. He can't die now! Not at this moment. There has to be some way out of this.

Arthur turned about and reverse slashed at Guillemin then proceeded to slash and thrust at his defences. The other knight could not parry the blows so he tried to dodge them.

_I have to force him to parry._

The red knight's mind suddenly went back to his training with Lord Bedford.

_His muscles were sore from the hammering blows._

_"I'm defeated." He threw his sword and shield down in surrender._

_The senior knight glared and kicked the weapons back at him._

_"You're not even trying." Bedford raised his two handed sword back._

_Arthur reluctantly picked both weapons up and faced him again._

_"Attack." The white haired Lelouch responded with an upper cut and vertical slash which the grand master easily avoided and kicked him in the stomach knocking the air out of him._

_"No wild attack. Plan and coordinate. That is a swordsman's strength."_

_"We don't bloody use swords in the modern world." _Somehow Arthur remembered saying that but he didn't recall the moment.

_Bedford responded by swinging his sword with great force that send Arthur staggering despite blocking with both sword and shield._

_The other knight then began raining blow after blow which succeeded in weakening Arthur._

_"Focus. Don't give your enemy the upper hand."_

"_Fuck the focus!"_ _He furiously attacked the other knight not caring whether he might accidently kill him. Sword and shield coming at him again and again. The senior knight was being pushed back by this and Arthur seemed heartened by it. His lighter and shorter weapons were getting too close for Bedford to use his longer blade._

_But just as he thought it that way, Bedford suddenly blocked his sword blow and turned the blade in an angle that it went in between the shield handle and his arm. The huge knight shoved the shield away and brought it back with such a force that sent his sword flying away._

_The great knight looked at him with what seemed to be disappointment and sadness at first then was suddenly filled with steel._

_And steel flew in his face and across Arthur's face._

_As Arthur shouted in pain and blood poured down his face, Bedford sheathed his sword._

_"Let that remind you that you're no longer a damn king…"_

Arthur was not sure what that meant but the memory gave him an idea.

When Guillemain came again, Arthur met his sword mid-swing and stopped it. Before the _Vincent_ could move, he quickly rammed his shield into the leaner knightmare. The bash staggered Guillemain but in the process the knight's MVS punctured the shield.

Arthur let it go then threw a kick into the shield, sending the zealot off balance.

_If you lack the skills to defeat your opponent, then find some way to unbalance him._

He swung his sword at Guillemain's chest but the knight officer luckily blocked it with a wild parry. Arthur brought his sword back and cut two fingers off and the sword handle off.

Taking his chance, Lelouch's knight gripped both of his hands on his sword and swung down. Guillemain brought his remaining lance to block but it was clumsy so Arthur's MVS blades cut it in two.

The other knights gasped in shock and outrage at him but Guillemain held a hand up.

_"Not bad. But my machine is still superior!"_ He shouted and gripping half of his MVS lance lunged with a spinning kick.

The kick contacted Arthur hard and right into his power cell. The black _Gloucester_'s was suddenly in shambles. His systems were screaming in alarm.

Guillemain came back again slashing with the remaining MVS like a short sword. He was too fast. Arthur blocked the first blow but received a deep cut in his chest on the second one. The knight captain then slammed a kick into his chest plate knocking the ebony knightmare to the ground.

_"I am the Knight of Charles zi Britannia. St. Darwin is with me!"_

Arthur shook his head from the pain and switched on his auxiliary power supply and got the black, battered _Gloucester_ back on its feet.

The first sight that greeted him was the silver and green blur that smashed into him and sent his world spinning again.

This time, however the ebony _Gloucester_ had lost his left red shoulder guard and wrist cover.

_"With a shorter blade,"_ Guillemain said even as he avoided Arthur's thrust and cut half of the _T_ visored head and threw a pushing kick square in the torso. _"I am untouchable to your antique!"_

_"A ghost!"_ Another blow. A hole through the other shoulder.

_"A phantom to your blows!" _The long sword cut air and the shorter red blade came down and sent a black _Gloucester_ arm flying.

"Well, then, I need to make that spectre reappear!" Arthur turned his single armed black _Gloucester_ around and detached the blood red cloak on his back.

The crimson cloth bellowed in the air and fell upon the silver and gold _Vincent_ and covered the knight of St. Darwin's vision for a moment.

But that was all Arthur needed and his MVS long sword came around and the ruby vibrating blade first cut through the red cloak, the silver and gold metal of the knightmare and finally through the chest of Sir Guillemain, Knight Captain of the Order of St. Darwin.

The final move caused a dust storm to engulf the two combatants and covered the vision of the observers.

When it finally cleared, the black and red _Gloucester_ stood tall with only one arm, one shoulder and half a head.

The plumed customised _Vincent _appeared behind him but the upper body slid off the torso and exploded causing several pieces of the severed crimson cloak to attach on the black _Gloucester_.

To the knights, it looked like a scene from a medieval epic.

Arthur was breathing hard and saw that his victory had stunned the St. Darwin warriors. He raised the long sword and shouted his triumph.

"Despite my disadvantage…I am the victor!"

"RED KNIGHT!" A voice shouted from the Fallon defenders. The _Knight Police_ frames began to enter the scene victorious, raising their fists high.

The red knight pointed his sword at the other knights.

"You are defeated! You failed your patron!"

_"Fall back! St. Darwin! Lord Lambert calls! Fall back!"_

The St. Darwin knights looked at each other in confusion, clearly losing the stomach to fight and began to leave the battlefield.

The defenders attacked the retreating knights, falling on the slower knights and tearing them apart.

The departure of their elite sent the rest of the rebels to finally retreat. Seeing them gone, Arthur opened his cockpit and breathed in.

_"RED KNIGHT!" _Someone shouted.

"We won? I can't believe we won!" A soldier sobbed in joy in the arms of her comrade.

"FALLON! FOR FALLON! FOR THE EMPIRE!" Another cheered.

"All hail Empress Nunnally!"

Arthur muted the cheering and closed his eyes to relax.

"We won! We defeated them!" The familiarity of the voice made him open his eyes.

He saw the red _Glasgow_ moving near him and its red haired pilot leapt out to him He just managed to catch her and pulled her to his cockpit.

She was smiling brightly, her blue eyes dancing with joy and pride.

Arthur smiled for a moment then frowned.

"No. They're still out there. We haven't won."

As if in timing, cannon shot sounded and struck a building nearby. The attack quickly stopped the cheering.

Arthur shook his head. "Not yet. What we have achieved here is one for the history books." He told her honestly. "But they still have a force out there and they have cannons. If they attack again, we can't hold them off."

Arthur looked at everyone assembled. _Too few left. But we don't have a choice._

He put a hand on Kallen shoulder and leapt down to see the conditions.

They walked across the ruined streets and buildings. The dead were littered everywhere with the rubble. Black armour of the rebels and white and blue of the defenders was mixed along with that of the knightmare debris.

Kallen had been in many battles and had her share of seeing the horrors of the aftermath but something about this battle twisted her gut.

They spotted the baron of Fallon crushed to death by fallen debris. Kallen felt little sympathy for him.

They spotted Milly treating a wounded Rivalz.

"Oww! That hurts!" The blue haired man was saying when they reached.

Kallen folded her arms. "I still can't believe you did what you just did."

"Believe me, I'm having a hard time myself." Rivalz gave his friends a crooked smile.

"It was brave." Arthur admitted. "Stupid but brave. And you did help save the battle."

"I could get used to this." Rivalz grinned.

"In your dreams." Kallen told him and wacked him in the head.

"Ow! I'm wounded here! Why did you hit me?"

Arthur shook his head in amusement then turned to Milly.

"Start evacuating everyone from the town. In their condition, the rebels won't be able to follow you properly."

Milly blinked. "What? What do you mean leave?"

"This town is lost." Arthur told them bluntly. "If we stay here, we'll all die under their cannon."

"Under that fire, we won't even be able to move out in time." Milly pointed out.

"They won't be firing at the city."

Kallen looked at Arthur in concern.

"What are you saying?"

"We're going to take the offensive."

* * *

**Tokyo**

**United States of Japan**

"This is not possible." Prime Minister Ohgi said, staring at the datapad in his hand.

"You can't deny the evidence, Prime Minister." Senator Ryoma insisted.

The former Black knight deputy commander read the reports again.

"I watched him," Ohgi repeated more to himself than his fellow politician. "I watched him stabbed."

"We all did. But considering how Geass is implicated, we have to assume to the worse."

The brown haired man finished the reports for the third time. "We have enough problems with the random terrorist attacks and the civil war in Britannia."

"The return of the Demon Emperor is the greatest danger we know!" The older politician argued. "You know that! Him and alone is enough to destroy the fragile balance that we have achieved."

The Japanese Prime Minister sighed and sat down on his chair.

"We've just barely begun our recovery." He massaged his forehead with one hand. As if negations with the EU wasn't enough.

"That is why we must strike!"

"How reliable is your source, Senator? What we're talking about here is an attack on an Imperial knight. A Britannian knight. One of those loyal to the Empress."

Ryoma stared at his companion in the eye. "Prime Minister, you saw first-hand what he is capable of. You know that I have the best interest of the free world in my heart. For that monster to return…"

"You don't need to remind me…"

"Then I don't need to say anything. We need to take action. Besides, the attacks in Germany, Burma, Africa are getting worse."

Ohgi believed the senator. He also knew that he had Kallen assigned to mark Arthur Peregrine.

"Then before he disappears again, get him."

"Yes, sir." Ryoma nodded and left the room.

An FSS officer was waiting outside.

"Sir, Senators Singh and Neumann have agreed with your plan. The _Rajput_ and the _Eagle_ have just arrived in Formosa. And we've heard that they're sending a company of from the Jägertruppe."

Ryoma smiled. "Send them to Pearl Harbour first to the California air base. I want them ready to hunt a demon."

* * *

**The ruins of Fallon**

The cannonade continued throughout the town and was becoming worse by the minute. One shell landed on a truck full of unfortunate civilians, turning them to ash in moments.

Women and children cried in fear even as the defenders attempted to keep them moving even though the warriors themselves were just as distressed as they were. However, they also knew there was nothing to be done for them. What they could do now was to save the living.

Milly managed to quickly organise the evacuation but the cannonade was taking a toll. The shells were causing buildings to collapse on them.

Kallen knew that they had to attack. She turned to the line of blue, white and brown _Gloucesters_ and _Knight Police_ forming an old traditional cavalry formation. The purple figures were the few _Sutherlands_ gained from the surrendering rebels.

It looked pathetically small and ragged compared to the mass of rebels was guarding the artillery and command centre miles away.

However, the black and red _Gloucester_ standing tall in front of the assembled warriors made it seem like they would actually stand a chance. The crimson cloak behind him danced slowly in the wind that came down.

Arthur stood tall above the black machine's cockpit and waited patiently for the rest of the knightmares to assemble. And as if in conjunction with the ebony knightmare's cloak, a piece of the red sash billowed together. Kallen felt like she was in the presence of a legend despite the knight's short career.

Although her mind argued otherwise, she felt in her heart this was the man. This was him: the prince, the rebel leader, the emperor, the knight of justice…the man she loved…no the man she still loves…

And if she would die this day, she would do so as she had done with him years ago: fighting for the hapless.

It was a doomed mission. Every man and woman here knew that. Despite the earlier victory, the battle was not won and blood still need to be spilled to save the town's folk.

When the last machine joined the formation, Arthur nodded and entered his machine. Kallen did so as well and checked her systems. They were all good to go…well as much as they could with the limited resources.

The black and red _Gloucester_ raised a hand. Kallen cocked her rifle and readied her lance and with the _Gloucesters _behind Arthur raised their lances.

_"Readdyy! Trooott….MARCH!"_ _In one movement, the mass of horses began to advance in a trot._

_That was how a cavalry charge began. The prince had explained to Karen. It would always begin slowly to prevent the horses from tiring before they could reach their target. It was also the most dangerous moment as well as it was where they'd be most vulnerable to enemy fire. Sometimes men lose their nerves and turn away. It was why they move amassed to ensure discipline and prevent routs._

_But it also made them a perfect target._

_Karen was chosen to lead one of the wings to make sure they'd be able to hit the enemy flank. She wanted to be by his side but knew the order made sense. These were law enforcers not true soldiers. They needed to be guided._

_If discipline is lost then, the charge would turn into a mad rush. The English did that to the French in the Hundred Years War. They cannot allow the Romans to do that to them._

_The prince was in black and red at the head. He hadn't drawn his sword yet and was moving slow though Karen was quick to notice that he was picking up the pace slowly._

_His presence was so strong to the men were following him like a pack of sheep to a shepherd._

_"Quick march! Quick March! Pick up the speed! _Pick up the speed!" Arthur's voice came in the radio. The black _Gloucester _was kicking a dust storm now.

They were going to enter the kill zone soon. Five…four…three…two…

The ground to his right erupted in a barrage of boulders and sand. The knightmares behind him moved pass the storm.

A second exploded in front of him, showering him with dirt and rocks.

And soon there were multiple explosions everywhere and suddenly the entire line was covered with sand. He heard a shout as someone was hit.

"Hold the line! Don't break formation!" He called. He watched the screen as the distance between the rebel forces. The numbers were falling rapidly but he heard the screams of more death in the radio.

_We need to buy the time! We can't die too fast!_ Arthur thought furiously. _But it's too early! Too bloody early!_

Kallen avoided another shell but it was a cluster shell and the smaller pieces landed on those behind her. One struck a _Gloucester_'s landspinner, sending the machine tripping and disappearing into the sand storm forming around them.

_Come on! Come on!_ She thought impatiently as she watched the ebony machine for a signal.

She saw a _Vincent _above the rebel mass watching the bombardment.

In her mind, however she remembered something from history class.

_"Cannon to right of them,  
Cannon to left of them,  
Cannon in front of them  
Volley'd and thunder'd;  
Storm'd at with shot and shell."_

Kallen chuckled, grimly to herself. "Seems appropriate."

Arthur seemed to be thinking of the same thing as he murmured to her in a private channel.

_"Boldly they rode and well,  
Into the jaws of Death,  
Into the mouth of Hell."_

And then the barrage suddenly toned down. Less major explosions but instead it was more frequent. Kallen zoomed in and saw that the knightmares were raising their grenade launchers on their rifles and firing their grenades at them as if they were firing arrows.

Some of the knightmares began to accelerate too quickly.

"No! No. Not yet!" Arthur shouted but not before one died with the _Knight Police_'s back blown open.

The grenade fire was becoming more accurate and he saw some of the cannons lowering to fire straight at them.

_Wait for a bit. Wait for a bit._ Arthur fidgeted with his joystick, eager to ready his weapon. A cannon blast exploded in their right flank.

Kallen gasped as Valois' _Gloucester_ was hit, staggering in the wake of the blast.

Then she saw it.

The sword guard on the black and red _Gloucester_'s back open up and his hand reached for hand and pulled the weapon out even as the blade redden.

"CHARGE!"

Lowering their lances, Kallen and the Fallon defenders screamed their war cries and threw their machines in full speed.

The charge struck the rebel line like a hammer. The rebels did not seem to expect them to continue on after inflicting such causalities.

Many of the rebel knightmares had just switched to their rifles and they hit. The lances skewered chest and pilot a like as the white, blue and red wave swept pass the rebel host.

A Knight of St. Darwin tried to rally the rebels but the charge hit him. The Knight Police _Gloucester_ hit him in the chest, not puncturing the machine but sent the knight staggering back and denting his chest plate.

Kallen finished the job and skewered the _Ward_ with a thrust.

She saw the tanks and mobile artillery behind the infantry lines and rushed in to face them. Resistance at once stiffen. The Black Knight ace trampled infantrymen and had to shoot down or skewer several _Sutherlands_.

She showered a barrage of bullets on a line of artillery, aiming for their weak points leaving lines of explosions. A white and green _Ward_ lunged at her with a sword but Kallen parried the slash with her lance and fired her rifle point blank range in its chest. The knight staggered back as his chest was riddled with bullets. Then Kallen thrust her lance in just to make it count.

She saw Arthur leading six _Gloucesters_ in a wedge formation, destroying anything in their way. The black and gold _Gloucester_ spin a bout to dodge a lance strike and slice the rebel's leg off with his sword. He lowered his sword and thrust the blade into the neck of _Sutherland_.

Two Fallon _Gloucesters_ joined his side firing their rifles at the other knightmares riddling them all with bullets.

And at Arthur's signal, three of the _Gloucesters _charged out under the fire and skewering and smashing the survivors with their lances.

Breaking the defenders, the team turned on the cannons and destroyed them.

The charge had broken and scattered the rebel line but many survived and now the remaining knights and officers were rallying them back into formation.

Lambert was no fool and seeing the damage began to signal the rebels to surround and cut the Fallon forces off.

Kallen saw the movements and thus quicken her effort to destroy the remaining artillery. The battery was falling back to the main rebel host.

She then saw the G1-Mobile fortress clearing up in the mass of battle.

_Lambert's there!_ Kallen turned her sight towards the commanding post. She knocked aside a _Sutherland_ with her lance and fired at another in her way. She dodged the thrusts and fire that came at her, only focusing on the giant purple and gold machine in her way.

Her suddenly change of target initially confused the rebels but now seeing what she was after caused them to suddenly shift their priorities.

A squad of _Sutherlands_ and _Gloucesters_ tried to intercept her but their attacks were wild and clumsy and Kallen was able to avoid their fire. One _Gloucester_ lunged with his lance but she easily side stepped the thrust and continued her way.

She made it pass two more squads. A _Sutherland_ blocked her way swinging his stun tonfa but she moved right under the blow and kicked his knee as she past him.

She was closing in but now Kallen had finally caught the attention of the knights. And the white, gold and green _Vincent_ _Wards_ began deploying around the G1.

"Shit." Kallen cursed. It was one thing to face a full squad of Britannian knights but it was entirely another thing to fight them inside a 5th generation knightmare.

However, the Black knight ace could not back down now. She was a soldier and she has beaten the odds before and she would do so again!

The red _Glasgow_ dove in full speed and the first _Ward_ move in to meet her charge. The knight swung his sword but Kallen was not there. She punched her slash harkens into the ground before her, calculated enough for her to leap into the air using both her legs and the harkens' strength. She shot into the air and turned her rifle on the surprised _Ward_, firing rounds into his cockpit.

She landed on another knight: stepping right on the customised _Ward_'s plumed head and leapt down. Kallen drew one of her daggers and slashed down on the knightmare's vulnerable cockpit as she did. Despite her disadvantage in tech, the Black knight ace's experience in battle made her just as formidable even without her _Guren_.

And these Britannian knights, blinded by their arrogance did not see that until it was too late.

Taking already two out, Kallen fired a few rounds at the next knight as she continued her advance. She slashed a _Ward_'s ankle then blasted another head off with her grenade launcher. She used the same tactic as earlier using her slash harkens to make the impossible jumps and speed that her _Glasgow_ could not make against the far superior machines.

Another knight, this one with a white plume thrust his sword but Kallen was already behind the warrior and fired a single shot point blank range into his back.

The next knight however was already leaping towards her with both short swords in lance mode. Before he could move though, a pair of slash harkens struck the knight from the side and sent him crashing to the ground.

As the remaining knights turned to see the new threat, Kallen zoomed pass them. Sparing a glance, she saw Arthur's black _Gloucester_ slashing his sword down and a wave of red, blue and white _Gloucesters_ charged at the St. Darwin knights.

She also knew that they won't last long so knew that she had to face the G1 as soon as possible.

Passing the knights, Kallen finally saw the unit defending the G1. They were in the purple and blue of the Britannian army and turned to face her. Seeing her last obstacle, she open fired at the _Wards_ and _Gloucesters_, dodging bullet fire, lance thrusts and tonfa swings as she went pass them. She tripped one _Gloucester_ off balance and launched one grenade on the G1's bridge. The blast did not penetrate the armour plating but shook the entire base.

Their response was immediate and the mobile base turned its cannons on her. However, their turrets turned slow and by the time they fired, she wasn't there already and instead blasted the base's own guards that were chasing her.

She fired a burst of bullets at two of the turrets, knocking them out then fired another grenade shell at the bridge. This time the glass cracked.

"One more!" Kallen readied another grenade and fired again but this one went wide as a flash of blue and purple swept pass her. It felt like she was struck by a boulder and her _Glasgow_ was sent spinning down.

_"Damn, Eleven bitch!" _Dante's voice shouted._ "I should have raped and kill you the moment I set my eyes on you!"_ The _Vincent_ _Air_ came back again this time launching a slash harken. The wired harken missed its mark, striking the ground before her and showered dirt and sand into her. She kept moving and firing her rifle but the other machine was way too fast.

Finally the officer came back again and charged towards her with his MVSs bright red.

Kallen continued firing but the blue and purple machine dodged her bullets, just like Suzaku had done in his _Lancelot_ before. In the machine's red eyes despite its artificiality she saw murder in them.

The _Vincent_ swung and Kallen raised her dagger to block. The dagger was sent flying away in pieces. The renegade officer brought his blade back and Kallen side stepped it again. But then Dante brought his arm up and activated his needle blazer. The weapon glowed bright blue and Kallen tried to move out of its path but knew she was not fast enough. She belatedly brought her rifle as a makeshift shield even as the energy discharged at her.

The blast felt like a truck smashing into her and her red _Glasgow_'s systems shriek in alarm. She felt her face smashing against the side, biting her lips at the same time.

Vision was blurry to her but Kallen knew she was knocked to the ground. Her systems were critical and her head was spinning. She slowly reached for her monitor screen to clear the image and facial sphere and saw Dante right on top of her with a bright ruby blade pointing at her.

_"Attack!" _A Fallon officer cried.

The police knightmares surrounded the _Vincent_ and attacked the rebel officer.

_"Damn, lowlife scum!"_ Dante cursed and brandished his two blades. The colonel was definitely not on Guillemain's level but a _Lancelot _was a _Lancelot_ and that was a problem.

The _Vincent_ dove into their ranks and in his first swing he severed two _Knight Police_ into halves. Dante turned his blade around and parried a lance thrust then stabbed the _Gloucester_'s cockpit.

With his superior agility, the _Vincent_ literally danced around the older generation knightmares. The rebel commander beheaded another Fallon machine then leapt aside another lancer's thrust. He launched his slash harkens mid-air, striking another two opponents down. As he landed, the lancer struck again but Dante knocked the golden lance out of his hands then with a vicious downward thrust, skewering the knightmare and pilot on the ground. The surviving _Knight Police_ sought to take that advantage and leapt with a dagger in hand but the _Vincent _merely caught the machine by the throat then idly used his other arm's needle blazer and blasted a hole in the _Knight Police_.

The _Glasgow_ head rolled down from the explosion towards Kallen's screen.

She saw what Arthur had saved from everyone by duelling Guillemain and keeping his knights preoccupied. But it seemed to be too late, around her she saw their attack force being cornered and taken down.

The St. Darwin knights in particular were toying with the Fallon soldiers, dancing around their desperate attacks before landing vicious death blows.

Kallen knew that she had to do something. Without her, there was little chance. She activated her emergency powers to bring her old machine back on its feet. The half Britannian saw Arthur's black and red _Gloucester_ leaping in to face Dante his long sword meeting the rebel officer's MVS double lance blow for blow.

When her head finally cleared and machine was on her feet, Kallen saw that her red _Knight Police Glasgow_ was without an arm and there was a hole that was revealing her exoskeleton.

The surviving Fallon troops were gathering around Arthur even as he duel Colonel Dante to a standstill. Kallen knew it was only a matter of time he'd be overwhelmed so she readied her _Glasgow_ and charged at Dante.

Arthur had broken Dante's block and was preparing to thrust when the rebel commander used his knightmare's superior agility and landed a kick in his torso. With his opponent stunned, Dante swung his blade down on the ebony _Gloucester_ with such a force that broke the long sword and sent the knightmare to the ground.

Kallen screamed a war cry and leap forward and slammed into the _Vincent_. The move caused her machine to shake violently but it also sent the other machine rolling on the ground, with Dante cursing her name.

She studied Arthur's ebony knightmare who was still badly dented and scratched from his fight against the knight captain even though he had replaced a new arm. His internal systems were however a different story. It reminded Kallen of her own loss arm and she detached the remaining stump so that she could focus more power on her one good hand.

However, Kallen saw that the rebel forces already advancing on her position and they didn't look like they were going to accept surrender.

But then, the lead rebel suddenly exploded as it was advancing. Two more went down in a line as if a giant sword had cut through them.

The rebels came to a halt but a volley of missile rained down blasting the rest.

Kallen saw a maroon figure in the distance. But before she could even study further, a flash of grey zoomed in the air and unloaded a stream of missiles on the rebels on the ground.

Another maroon knightmare appeared in the air, firing down on the rebel forces with a rifle. Before she knew it, it was the rebels who were confused and surrounded being attacked on all sides.

She even saw a _Gareth_ appearing and bombarding the rebels with its heavy arms.

_"I will not beaten like this!"_ Dante's angry voice boomed as the blue _Vincent_ lunged at her. She dodged the thrust and circled around to face him properly. Kallen countered, launching a slash harken at the angry rebel's face denting the head. She launched her second one but the rebel caught it and snapped the cable.

Kallen tried to draw her knife only to realise that her last one was blown up with her other arm. Dante saw it and gave a dark chuckle.

_"No more fangs huh? Hehe. I'll kill you like the animal you are!" _He raised his sword but Arthur's ebony knightmare appeared behind him with a long sword in hand.

_"HA! Don't even think about it!"_ Dante's blade swung around and cut the _Gloucester_'s sword arm off then thrust his other blade into the head.

However, Kallen saw that Arthur wasn't swinging the sword at him.

It was being thrown.

Thrown to _her._

And Kallen caught it. And it was all she needed.

Dante however felt her attack and swung his weapon only to meet Kallen's sword. She withdrew and strike again at another angle and another. The rebel officer felt the pressure on him and on the next strike Dante threw up his needle blazer.

Before he could activate it, Arthur's slash harken struck it sending the energy build up to overload and discharge mid-air. The blast caused him to unbalance and Kallen took that chance to lung.

Dante tried to bring his blade down but it was too late.

The Black knight ace thrust and the red blade pierced through the knightmare's armour plate and Dante's chest.

The sword had pierced through the machine's chest but without touching any of the systems so the _Vincent_ merely shut down with the death of its pilot.

A grim death for a grim man, Arthur mused.

_"Yo! Arthur!"_ Anduin's voice boomed in his radio. His _Gareth_ had just fried the entire G1 bridge with his Hadron cannon.

"I see you bunch had taken your sweet time."

Jeremiah's voice was in contrast apologetic. _"Forgive our tardiness, my lord. We had a hard time tracking you in this desert with the rebels jamming our signal."_

_"Better late then never, I say." _Jack added.

Arthur gave a tired smile, even though they can't see it.

"Well, there's an entire town for you to pick up. Anyone care to be the deliverer of good news?"

_"I'll do it._" Harry answered.

Arthur opened his cockpit to get out of his heated knightmare. The weather was just as hot but at least the breeze was cooling.

He saw the Fallon soldiers recovering from their shock.

"By the gods, did we finally do it?"

"Finally we won? We defeated an army unit?"

"Huzzah!"

Arthur smiled at their relief. Some were sobbing in joy. He could hardly blame them.

"To the red knight!" He heard Valois' voice crying out. He saw the police captain who somehow survived all of that and was raising her helmet to him. The other soldiers joined her.

Then in the mist of it, the armless red _Glasgow_ zoomed towards him. She literally _leapt out of the saddle and collapsed on him. Her red hair was dancing and her deep blue eyes glittered in joy._

_"ARTHUR! We DID IT! WE DROVE THEM OUT!"_ _Despite the exhaustion he felt, Lelouch smiled and wrapped his hands around her._

_He looked into her eyes and saw what she saw. Lelouch felt drawn to her. Somehow, in some way, he knew they were connected. He did not know what it was._

_When he first saw her, he rather stunned. That quick and devastating fighter was a woman. And what a woman! She wore little beyond her form fitting steel and leather armour_. _He had first seen her in white robes that disguised her body except for her face and bright red hair. Her face was beautiful and at that time seemed to a touch of gentleness, her red hair contrasting with the deep blue orbs._

_In armour, the red hair had turned into a fiery mane that matched the steel in her azure orbs. Her body was well muscled and toned as were her other features. Her face was still pleasant to look at but it showed her determination and will._

_But he had rarely seen her in both appearances but now the armoured, warrior Karen was smiling up at him. And she was stunning. Lelouch felt his heart melt at the sight._

_Without thinking, he brushed a red strand away from her face_. _Lelouch blinked and _Arthur realised that he had never seen anything that was so beautiful and strong together.

Kallen was holding his hands even as they faced each other. The ghost of the man she loved looked at her fondly, the indifference was long gone. She felt tears in her eyes.

_Lelouch…_

So caught up in the moment, both belatedly realised the position they were in.

Kallen saw his face suddenly lit up as the cheering returned. Both let each other go, blushing but Kallen saw Arthur still held a hint of a smile despite it and she felt her heart jump.

"Wow, I can't believe we just did that."

The white haired Lelouch smirked. "Believe it. This is the sweet taste of victory."

He raised his fist high and the cheering went louder.

"I couldn't have done this without you," Arthur told her. It was nothing wrong with it but his words made Kallen blush.

"Ah…well…" Why was she lost for words? Kallen thought she had already become used to with him. "You'd probably figured something out instead."

The red knight gave her a half smile and looked at the victors. "No. Not like this."

It was his damn eyes. That's why. Kallen told herself. She was nervous as hell but perhaps blame it on her battle fatigue; she slipped a hand into his.

And to her surprise, he grasped it.

* * *

**Phew! That's over! So the civil war is almost over and Kallen's finally got to know Arthur…unfortunately I'm a sadistic writer so something really bad is going to happen and hopefully it will give you guys a refreshing shock. The song the rebel soldiers were singing is from Skyrim. I just added there so it might give a clearer pic of how the rebels see the world.  
**

**And since you guys have been waiting patiently I'll give the final hint.**

As the half-Britannian embraced the red knight, a small device fell from his pocket and into the knightmare's cockpit.

The impact caused it to activate and made some sounds though it was far too low for anyone nearby to here.

_"By Blood and Honour we serve." _A voice spoke. _"Those were the words that defined the duty and loyalty the Knights of Pendragon gave. And carry to death."_

_"Only the purest of heart are chosen." A female voice added. "For to become one of the chosen will be granted tremendous powers to serve the realm." _

_"It is both a curse and a gift." A deep male voice added. "For you will hence forth carry, not just the burdens of your ancestors but that of humanity and the evils it carries._

_"There is no glory to gain for history will not always remember you kindly. Names such as Lancelot, Drake and Fawkes have inspired both love and loathing._

_"Will you take up this path?"_

A dark haired man nodded. "I will."

"_Then hence forth, Scion of Pendragon. We, elders of the old world, grant you the full might and power of the Ancient Order of the Arfon Knights, sons and daughters of the Round Table and the memory of the Ancient Kingdom of Camelot and Britannia."_

The man nodded and bowed, knowing that there was no way back.

He stood up and turned away from the knight lords and looked into the figure across him.

The figure was dark and he could not see any distinct features but the former Emperor knew who it was.

"I, Lelouch vi Britannia, former Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, former Chief Executive Officer of the Order of the Black Knights, former chairman of the United Federation of Nations, and now Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of Artorious Pendragun…"

The man took off his hood and helmet, revealing his true face at the figure.

His eyes glowed crimson at his command. The figure's eyes mimics his own and too glowed red. The Geass avian's wings began to move.

"I have chosen you amongst all, to be my presence in the mortal world.

"To be my sword that smites my enemies, to be my shield that guards my love ones

"Your actions will be mine, your thoughts will be mine.

The glowing crimson eyes became dimmer though the wings only flapped faster.

"Your name, your memories, your feelings, your thoughts will cease to exist.

"You will be the single embodiment of MY will and my thoughts.

The eyes became purple even as the wings' rapid movement caused the pupil to form a ring of energy around.

"You, Arthur, of House Peregrine, officer of my royal guard, a knight to my empire will become the extension of my will."

They were now violet but still changing.

Finally they are blue.

The figure stumbled slightly and darkness followed. There was nothing.

And then the room was luminous again but only one pair of eyes glowed cobalt. However, the wings were still flapping in the eyes. When they finally stopped, the Geass symbol was reverse…

**"**Lelouch vi Britannia pressed his fist to his chest. His eyes glowed blue with the reverse Geass symbol.


	25. Chapter 10: Epilogue

**Hey guys, this will be the final chapter for this story. I was looking back and realised it's getting a bit draggy. And there's still much more waiting so I'm closing ****_When Fates Converge_**** here with Arthur and Kallen's victory over the rebels. Consider it as an ending of the first season or in the case of Code Geass 3****rd**** Season. I'm going to turn the Three Arcs into Four with each story comprising of two. So the sequel will explore the fate, the aftermath of the Civil war and the fate of Lelouch with old and new enemies. **

* * *

**New Pendragon, Ares Villa**

"It looks painful." Nuannlly commented, touching Kallen's injuries lightly.

"It's much better now." The red haired woman replied with a smile. "And the docs have given me some meds to help. I'm fine, Your Majesty."

The Empress glared at her. "I told you to stop calling me that."

"I can't help it. Not after seeing what your words did for those people."

Nunnally frowned. "I sent a lot of people to their deaths…"

"And saved countless more." Kallen was not going to let her feel that way. "I will admit we were being overwhelmed. It was your speech in the middle of battle that turned the tide. The men fought to protect their families and you renewed their courage."

She sighed then looked at Kallen closely and smiled. "You look lovely."

Kallen adjusted her gown. Nunnally wanted her to wear a grand dress but she argued that it was not her thing. That battle turned out to be even worse than the one she and Arthur fought in Fallon and New England. Unfortunately, the Empress threatened her with treason and she was forced to relent.

Worse, Milly was there and Kallen was stuck for hours with them.

When they had finishing playing doll with her, Kallen was now wearing a pink slip-dress with her wild hair straightened and a thick pile of makeup which she had thinned in a bathroom break. For footwear, she wore light sandals.

Kallen hated heels.

She noticed they didn't put any jewellery on her and the only answer she gets for answering is more giggling between the two women.

She hoped they're not playing matchmakers again.

"Shall we go then?" Milly returned in a glamorous yellow gown that made her literally glow.

"Wow." The reporter remarked. "You look amazing, Kally. You know that's the same dress Shirley and I made."

Kallen was surprised to hear that. "It is?" She looked closely at the mirror. "My god, I didn't even recognise it."

"You certainly put in more weight than before." Milly teased, though Kallen could see the visible difference from before. She was taller and her built was better. Her muscles were more obvious and her hair was much longer.

"Shirley…" Kallen remembered the ginger haired girl that had that unrequited love for Lelouch. Her death was heartbreaking. It was bad enough for her. She couldn't imagine what Lelouch had gone through.

She remembered the times where Shirley always bugged her trying to get her to admit that Lelouch and she was a couple. At that time, Kallen wasn't sure what to think of the former prince.

It was strange and ironic that only when Kallen became a fugitive of Britannia and left Ashford did she began to grow feelings for Lelouch.

Kallen wondered what Shirley's reaction of it would be if she saw the Black knight now.

_How true your words had become…_

"We all miss Shirley." Nunnally added with a sad smile. "I wish she could be with us now."

"Oh come on! Let's not dwell on such thoughts!" Milly put an arm around Kallen. "Let's go party!"

The rebel defeat at Fallon was followed by a series of Imperial victories ranging all over the empire. The Imperial Navy stayed loyal to the throne and they sent many amphibious assault and landings in Canada, forcing Oxbridge to send significant rebel troops to defend his Duchy. Without the main rebel force, the resistance crumbled rapidly.

The defeats gave Zero time to rally and reorganise many of the Britannian forces and integrate them into the Black Knight Military as under the UFN charter. It was hoped to fulfil the UFN criteria of turning the Britannian military into the Black Knights with the exception of the Imperial Guard Divisions and the Knights of the Round.

Of course, there was the question of the various Knight Orders, independent armies in their own right outside the Britannian Armed Forces. Some like the St. Darwin knights had sided with the rebels but the rest were still wavering here and there.

But the hardest part was already over.

So Nunnally chose host a buffet in honour of those who have died and sacrificed at her family resident, the Ares Villa as opposed to the Imperial Palace.

There were at least over a hundred guests both in and out of the villa. Maybe even more.

This was likely perhaps the only time where so many commoners and nobles were interacting together. She also noted that many of the men wore simple black suits and tuxedos over the glamorous robes that Britannians had been so fond of. The women too were more modest than Kallen had ever seen in a Britannian crowd. They still shined compared to other people.

But then again Britannians were Britannians.

There were tingles of military uniforms in the crowd too: the purple and gold of the Imperial Guard, black and grey of the Black knights and of course the white, gold and black of the Knights of the Round. She recognised some of them.

"Konichawa, Kallen-san." A Japanese voice said behind her causing the Black knight ace to jump.

"Sayoko-san?" The maid bowed politely. Kallen knew she shouldn't be so startled at her sudden appearance and disappearance considering she was also a master ninja but so far in all counts she had failed.

"I hope you are well." She switched back to English.

"Good to see you too, Sayoko." Milly added. "I heard you're helping out at an orange farm?"

The maid blushed lightly at that.

"Ohhh…got a man, huh?" The blond reporter grinned. "Good for you."

Nunnally smiled. "We should go out and mingle." She nodded to some of the people milling about, clearly commoners who had never been to this part of Britannia. "Make them feel comfortable."

"Yes, Mistress." Taking it as an excuse to run away from Milly, Sayoko led the empress to the party.

"That was pretty quick of her." Milly commented to Kallen, who was not sure how to reply. "Well, then, come on!" She pulled the half-Britannian by her arm.

"Come where?"

"Mingle." With that, Kallen was thrown into the storm.

* * *

_"By Blood and Honour we serve." _A voice spoke. _"Those were the words that defined the duty and loyalty the Knights of Pendragon gave. And carry to death."_

_"Only the purest of heart are chosen." A female voice added. "For to become one of the chosen will be granted tremendous powers to serve the realm." _

_"It is both a curse and a gift." A deep male voice added. "For you will hence forth carry, not just the burdens of your ancestors but that of humanity and the evils it carries._

_"There is no glory to gain for history will not always remember you kindly. Names such as Lancelot, Drake and Fawkes have inspired both love and loathing._

_"Will you take up this path?"_

A dark haired man nodded. "I will."

"_Then hence forth, Scion of Pendragon. We, elders of the old world, grant you the full might and power of the Ancient Order of the Arfon Knights, sons and daughters of the Round Table and the memory of the Ancient Kingdom of Camelot and Britannia."_

The man nodded and bowed, knowing that there was no way back.

He stood up and turned away from the knight lords and looked into the figure across him.

The figure was dark and he could not see any distinct features but the former Emperor knew who it was.

"I, Lelouch vi Britannia, former Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, former Chief Executive Officer of the Order of the Black Knights, former chairman of the United Federation of Nations, and now Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of Artorious Pendragun…"

The man took off his hood and helmet, revealing his true face at the figure.

His eyes glowed crimson at his command. The figure's eyes mimics his own and too glowed red. The Geass avian's wings began to move.

"I have chosen you amongst all, to be my presence in the mortal world.

"To be my sword that smites my enemies, to be my shield that guards my love ones

"Your actions will be mine, your thoughts will be mine.

The glowing crimson eyes became dimmer though the wings only flapped faster.

"Your name, your memories, your feelings, your thoughts will cease to exist.

"You will be the single embodiment of MY will and my thoughts.

The eyes became purple even as the wings' rapid movement caused the pupil to form a ring of energy around.

"You, Arthur, of House Peregrine, officer of my royal guard, a knight to my empire will become the extension of my will."

They were now violet but still changing.

Finally they are blue.

The figure stumbled slightly and darkness followed. There was nothing.

And then the room was luminous again but only one pair of eyes glowed cobalt. However, the wings were still flapping in the eyes. When they finally stopped, the Geass symbol was reverse…

"Yes, Your Majesty…" His eyes glowed blue with the reverse Geass symbol.

* * *

Kallen had escaped Milly's clutches. If only for the moment.

Fortunately, no suitor had appeared yet. Kallen needed to find a male companion nearby without drawing too much. It was easier said than done though as she was turning the heads of a lot of people.

"Kallen!" A familiar voice called.

"Melanie?" It was the Knight of Nine but not the way she knew her. Evergreen had let her hair down and wore a white dress.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"What do you think?" Kallen scowled.

"Don't be so serious. We all need a bit of rest once in a while." She led Kallen to a table.

"It's not that." Kallen explained. "I'm trying to look for someone."

Melanie grinned. "Someone?"

"Not so loud! Milly will hear you!"

"Wow, Kallen's finally interested in someone. Gino and Zero will be devastated…"

The Black knight commander raised a fist to punch her but another voice caught her attention.

"Kallen, Melanie. So good to see you." Nonnette arrived. The eccentric woman was dressed as flamboyantly as ever, a bright green dress and yellow ribbons. Little Calia was with her wearing a cute white dress and a big red bow tie behind her.

"OH MY GOD, you're so CUTE!" Melanie squealed at the sight. Calia blushed and smiled nervously at the Knight of Nine.

"Auntie Nonette said I look nice in this." The tanned skinned girl explained, shyly.

"Of course, you do." Kallen smiled at the girl. It felt good knowing how their actions had made a great impact on the lives of the war's victims. Nunnally's faith in people made. Some may call it naivety. But to see how her compassion had changed the Empire that was once so feared…

She looked around and realised that there weren't just Britannians here in the party. She saw a couple dressed in kimono talking to a Britannian officer. On another table, there was an African man laughing with a Chinese man. Britannians and non-Britannians interacting like this. No one could imagine this tableau two years ago.

It was an amazing achievement.

Kallen felt proud of Nunnally and her achievements. She was sure Lelouch would be too.

"You wanna drink Britannian? Come on!" She heard a familiar voice shouting at a corner.

"Tamaki?" She recognised the voice. Sure enough the loudmouth Black knight was in a drinking competition in a mix crowd of men. To her surprise, Rivalz was the one pouring the drinks.

"What a small world this is becoming?" Kallen muttered to Nonette.

"Speaking of small world…Hello, Kallen."

"Ohgi!" Kallen embraced her surrogate brother and friend. "What are you doing here?"

The Prime Minister smiled. "The Empress invited us."

Villetta joined them holding little Naoto. The baby made some sound.

"Hello, Naoto." Kallen gave him her finger which the baby tried to grab and made a cheerful sound.

"Wow, this day can't get any better." Melanie exclaimed, opening her arms to welcome the baby.

Introductions were made between them and conversation flowed from Villetta's motherhood to Ohgi's work politics and Britannian war front.

Soon Kallen realised that there was a tingle of very familiar red uniforms amidst the crowd now.

Then she finally saw him.

He was dressed in a form fitting red tunic with a gold dragon badge on his shoulders with a white belt and black trousers. His white hair was neater and seemed to glitter in the mist.

Despite his striking appearance, he seemed to be catching little attention. He looks like Lelouch hiding from one of Milly's antics. Maybe he was.

And then he spotted her. His blue eyes showed recognition and he grabbed for a pair of glasses from a table and headed towards her.

Kallen felt her heart skip a beat seeing Lelouch walking towards her with a drink. Kallen also realised that she was smiling at him. He was just a few steps away when her vision was blocked by a Britannian military cross.

"Hey, Kallen! I was looking all over for you. Miss me?" Gino appeared with his trademark grin.

"What…Gino?!" Kallen yelped. The blond Knight of Three appearance startled her even as Gino offered her a glass of wine. She ignored it and look past the tall knight.

Arthur looked at them with widen eyes then his face red with embarrassment began to head to the side even as Gino's body blocked her view again.

"No. Wait."

"Come on, Kallen what's wrong?"

"Sorry," Kallen shoved him aside to look for the red uniformed Lelouch but he had disappeared already. She felt a cold shiver stabbing into her heart. Her eyes darted left to right but he was nowhere to be found.

This time even Nonette was concerned. "Hey, what is it?"

"He's gone…"

"Who?"

"Oh nothing. Sorry, Gino." She apologised realising she spilled the drinks on the blond knight. And she drained what remains a glass in a single gulp, trying to get rid of the cold feeling in her chest.

Gino grinned. "Well, you're gonna have to dance with me for that."

Kallen'd rather dance with someone else but she couldn't find him anywhere. She tried to get away from everyone so that she could look for him but unfortunately Nonette and Melanie were not going to let her out and to storm out would arose too much suspicion so she relented.

"Thought you'd never ask!" Gino replied and swept Kallen away.

Kallen held his hands awkwardly. "Come on, you can dance better." And Gino began to increase his pace that the Black knight had to actually dance to catch up. Their dance was catching a lot of people's attention.

_Unwanted attention._ Suddenly, he pulled her along in a swing.

"Wow, finally caught you off guard." He grinned.

That got her attention. "Oh, yeah, you're going down, Weinburg." She gripped him tightly and took the lead. She wanted to humiliate him but he was good and they were like in a knightmare battle, trying gain dominance over the other. To her surprise, she was enjoying the dance. Gino actually knew how to appeal to her liking.

They were attracting a crowd and as the song was coming to an end, he ended it with a dip and they received a thunderous applause particularly from their colleagues. She met up with Sugiyama and Minami as well among the crowd with a drunk Rivalz and Tamaki.

Tired, Kallen emptied the rest of her glass and excused herself away from all of them. She needed that distraction. But it was already returning. The heartache…it came back faster because she had been so close and he was gone again.

And then she spotted a lone red figure in the distance before the pond. At first the half-Britannian thought it was the alcohol but he was still there after rubbing her eyes.

He was leaning against a tree, looking across the water from the moon light. Kallen walked to him, wobbling slightly due to the drink she took.

Arthur glanced at her as she leaned beside him.

"I see you're enjoying yourself." He commented.

"Not my idea." Kallen told him and tried to shake away the dizziness. When she did though she felt his eyes on her and saw him studying her appearance.

"What?" He looked away.

"I've never seen in dress like a woman." Arthur told her rather bluntly.

"You don't see me as a woman?" Kallen asked, still feeling some slight effects of the drink.

"That's not very hard considering it's you." He replied, snidely. The white haired Lelouch coughed lightly.

"You look beautiful." He mumbled.

"What?"

"I said you look beautiful!" Arthur snapped, then his face reddened and turned away.

Kallen felt the blood flowing to her cheek at the compliment. She laughed. Arthur expected mockery but it wasn't. The laughter was simply joy.

She laid her head along the tree. "You know, Lelouch once took me out in this dress. Back in school. When things were simpler…"

Arthur wasn't sure how to answer that. Somehow his eyes went down, exploring her body figure. They rested on her cleavage.

"He was always giving glances at me. But he never said anything about it." Kallen turned and caught him staring. The white haired Lelouch turned away quickly.

"I see." He replied.

Kallen leaned on his shoulder. "You said you were the son of a nobleman? House Peregrine?"

"Yes...Though I'm not so sure now."

That caught Kallen's attention. "What do you mean?"

Arthur swallowed. His face lost much of Lelouch's arrogance and instead was replaced with concern and confusion.

"I can remember the rebellion against Emperor Charles. My parents' death. Clearly. Too clearly. I was barely a boy."

"Some memories will stick in your mind like a photo…" Kallen added, remembering Naoto's death.

Arthur agreed. "Those that have a huge impact on our life yes. But mine is too perfect. I see the same thing over and over. _Exactly_ the same. As if it was to provoke my anger…my rage…"

The white Lelouch made a fist. "I'm not sure if I'm really Arthur…or that Arthur Peregrine even exists..."

_That's because you're Lelouch…_Kallen thought. _Zero…the leader of the Black Knights…the Demon Emperor…the Saviour of this World…_

"I don't know." Kallen said, finally. "But I will help you find out." He turned to look at her and Kallen smiled at him reassuringly. His face relaxed.

"I guess then he's a lucky man." _Too bad he's still pretending to be dead…_ "That Knight of Three…"

Kallen's head snapped back at him. "What?! Gino?" She thought he was talking about Lelouch.

"You were clearly enjoying yourself back there. I didn't want to disturb you." Arthur's face changed again, turning red.

"Hey, there's nothing between him and me! I…" Kallen thought of what else to counter his next set of words when a thought occurred to her.

"Wait a minute…you're jealous, aren't you?" That did the trick and Arthur gave her an aghast look.

"Jealous?!" He exclaimed. She had him! This was for the record.

"Yeah, you were going coming to me then when he appeared you just turned away…you ARE jealous! Who could have imagine…"

"Hey, look, Kouzki…I am not jealous…"He protested but Kallen wasn't listening. She got him! She had actually made Lelouch jealous!

Arthur let out a string of protests, going into details but it was obvious that he was outwitted.

"Ok, very well." He moved away and began to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Kallen called.

"Thinking about asking that girl there for a dance. And to prove that I am not jealous."

"Oh, no you're not!" She caught his hand and pulled him back. "You can't get out of this one."

His Lelouch smirk returned. "Now we see the one who's really jealous."

Kallen laughed lightly, holding his hands. "There's no way in hell I'm going to let you go."

Arthur looked down at through her eyes. They stood there in a perfect image: Arthur in his red uniform holding Kallen, in the pink gown before the moon light and the pond in the background.

"Lelo…Arthur..." Kallen began her voice heavy with emotion.

"Wait." He pushed her aside and reached for something. Not the telephone again! Kallen cursed Alexander Graham Bell and his invention to the depths of…

"There." He took out a sapphire necklace and pulled it around her neck.

"It suits your eyes." He told her.

"You're already giving me a gift? I'm flattered." Kallen teased him.

"So it would seem." He agreed but then turned serious. "But honestly, I think we have a connection."

Kallen's heart jumped at that.

"It's strange to say it but there's this connection I feel." Arthur continued. "I've always felt for a long time already. It's drawn me towards you each time. New England, Pendragon, Fallon…all of them. And knowing that some of my memories are fake…I believe that we do in fact know each other.

"Our fates are joined…in many ways than I can imagine…I don't know what part you played but…"

He paused, clearly unsure of what else to say. Kallen waited for him patiently. She felt tears in her eyes.

"You were dear to me…I don't know who I truly am…or what my life was before…but of that I am certainly cle…"

Her lips were soft and warm on his, but not gentle. As he'd imagined far too many times than was good for his sanity, Kallen's kiss was as fierce and passionate as she was, and after the initial shock had passed Arthur responded.

_You are Lelouch…one day you'll remember…and I'll be at your side…_

* * *

**This was my first fanfiction story and honestly I did not truly imagine to get this much reviews. It has taught me, lessons I try to make My Queen better. I'm grateful to have such great readers and I hope you had fun reading this just as I enjoyed writing it.**


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